Two Paws
by PureSaberHeart
Summary: I'll be your strength. Follow my lead. I will show you what it is to love. What it means to care. How to end this war.
1. Chapter 1

Two Paws

Chapter 1

His feet scurried along the ground as his nose sniffed for an answer. Eyes observed the surroundings carefully. The area around him was packed in snow and the blizzard didn't seem to be stopping.

The day had slowly come to an end as the last gleam of light from the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Only his emerald eyes lit up in the total blackness of the night as the forest engulfed his view to a limit.

The tiger had to stop for a moment as he scraped his teethed daggers with his paw. Slivers of meat were still stuck between them from the meal that afternoon.

On the bright side, he was still full; happy that he was, for once, able to take something down that walked on all fours. Most of the time, he'd have to go find some variety of fruit or vegetables so that he wouldn't die of hunger. Hunting wasn't something he was very good at. And of course it was what the world expected him to be good at.

 _I better be full for the next couple of days._

And he was praying he was right. After all, getting hopelessly lost in the middle of an endless forest did concern him a bit.

He cursed at himself for being this stupid. He had left the den maybe a little under two hours ago just to go on a run and get some exercise running across the fields and forests.

 _Because I do that enough already._

Yet, there was a funny side to it. Exercise is meant to help. But the tiger had found that he could possibly die of starvation for trying it.

 _I take the same path I always do. Just a loop around._

What bothered him more was the blizzard. It was hardly snowing at all when the saber left for the evening. How was he to know? Yet, his mind convinced him that he was suppose to know. Just like anyone else would.

The scenario he found himself in only sparked back the remembrance. The truth about his life.

 _I'm a total fuck up._

Tried as he did, he couldn't look at it any other way. The mistakes he seemed to make throughout his cub days. How nothing prepared him for life afterwards, regardless of whether it was his fault or not. Situations kept piling up on top of the self doubting saber.

Other sabers he knew growing up seemed so perfect. Everyone seemed happy. Talkative. Interactive. They knew communication.

He did not.

He never understood why. Maybe that's just how he is. How he was born. Where nothing seemed to be sticking. Nothing seemed to be showing a way.

Or... at the very least, a way out of this forest.

He kept wandering for a bit, begging, pleading for the forest to give light and show an exit.

Already, he began thinking of the possibility that he'd have to find some place to stay for the night. If it came down to it, he'd have to build a shelter of some sort in the snow.

 _Before I freeze to death._

And that was another problem. It was so damn cold out. Probably in the double digit negatives. He could feel his legs going numb. Or rather, he couldn't feel them at all.

He tried yelling, roaring at the top of his freezing lungs. He started to panic at that point, picking up the pace as he scurried along the darkness. Trees and branches nearly missed his head.

He kept running. He kept running straight, figuring it was better than walking around in circles. But soon he realized it was just going to get him more lost and let the darkness swallow him to death.

The tiger had to stop and lie down in the snow, attempting to ease the severe panic attack.

 _I'm never getting out of here. I'm never seeing anyone ever again. Oh shit... I'm so gonna die out here._

His shivering turned into crying. His crying turned into fearing. And it just cycled through panic.

His paws reached around his cranium, holding it tight, feeling the pulse from the tension in his head. The fear in his throat choked and jolted him. The uncontrollable heavy breathing started to hurt him.

When all possibility of hope seemed to leave, something hit him... literally.

As he was laying there, he felt something kick his side. The blow was rather hard, knocking him over and on to his side. Powdered snow sprayed over the side of his face as it collided with the ground.

He wasn't sure what it was that hit him. His first guess was a deer, or herbivore of some kind. He only expected to hear it take off. But that wasn't the case.

The darkness still prevented him from seeing much, despite his natural ability to see better than most animals in the night. The problem wasn't just the darkness. It was also the dense forest that didn't allow any light from the stars or moon above. It was pitch black.

However, his hearing was still useful. He heard growling and snarling. Right away, the tiger knew that it was another saber. The pitch was so familiar to his own. But he couldn't see who it was as he started to lift himself up.

"Hey... wait. It's okay." He stumbled the words, still a bit dizzy from his head hitting the ground fairly hard.

No sooner did the growling cease to an end. But the shivering and the crying continued. The voice was female.

"It's alright..." he continued to speak, wanting this new presence to not feel threatened and take off because, truthfully, he desperately needed some help.

 _I need so much god damn help._

He could feel her presence draw near as he felt her bump into his shoulder.

"Sorry." He heard her speak.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, concerned. Her crying breaths stopped as her eyes looked up. He could barely make them out as they stared at him.

"I should ask you the same question." She smarted back.

 _A little feisty, aren't we?_

Though he was jumping to assumptions too quickly, the truth was; he didn't know a damn thing about this saber or what she even looked like.

He could only picture it in his own fantasy. The most beautiful saber he'd ever lay eyes on. Jaw dropping. Heart stomping. Mind tossing. He could only imagine.

But thinking about stuff like that. Relationships. Commitments. It all seemed like a lot of work. More work than he was willing to put into it, anyway.

And so, he just shrugged off the idea and quietly laughed a few breaths about it.

She growled in response, letting him know that she still didn't completely trust him.

But that trust would soon have to arrive as the two were just standing there in the dark. In the cold. Shivering and going numb.

 _I just want to be warm._

He couldn't help it. From the pain of the weather. From his own self worth. From pretty much everything up until this point. How he was such a huge mistake. He didn't even feel like he deserved to run into someone. To even think about the possibility. The chance. The very small chance.

The chance that he'd find something to live for.

So he cried. He whimpered. He lied down in the cold, elbows in the snow and freezing. He was expecting her to gain amusement from his pathetic state. A male saber. Crying. Since when?

Quite the opposite occurred. Literally. Instead of amusement, she seemed to have sympathy as he felt her presence draw nearer, the sound of paws crinkling the snow in front of him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked so softly and in such a concerned way. The tiger had never heard anyone sound so... caring. That alone warmed him.

"Well... I mean... I-

"I'm sorry for talking back like that. I was just-

"No. It's not that. I really... don't want to talk about it."

"Oh..." she wasn't sure what to say. It just reminded him of how bad he was at talking to anyone.

"Anyway..." her voice had him lift his head from the ground.

"Why _are_ you out here?"

"I got lost." The tiger responded, embarrassed.

"Lost?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm a dumb ass."

She only laughed in response. It was just beautiful to his ears.

 _Just maybe..._

His heart thumped at the thought of being something more.

"No, it's fine. I got lost, too. You see, I was..."

She stopped there for a second.

"Well... maybe it's not important right now."

It shocked the tiger how much has changed in the matter of minutes. Complete strangers one minute, then just talking it off the next. Of course, he only assumed it was because both of them were in dire need of help. Because of a life threatening situation.

"You have a name?" She asked.

"Yeah. Diego." He answered. Why she cared was beyond him. He was still bugged that he couldn't see this mystery saber at all. He knew he shouldn't care. But he couldn't help it. He wanted to know. And the fact that they were going to have to stick together to get out of this... it just furthered his fantasy.

 _Fantastic._

The blizzard had worsened since they ran in to each other. Trees shook violently as snow powdered through the trees like wind.

The entire time they traversed the forest, they had to be leaning up against each other so they wouldn't separate. And that caused only one thing to take up his thoughts.

 _I can't believe a saber... a female saber... her pelt. Her soft and warm pelt. Why is this happening?!_

His urges to know only furthered his desire. The warmth. The curves. The scent.

Something he never noticed before was how amazing she smelt. He wasn't sure what it was, but it forced him to actually control his animal instincts.

Now it just left him wondering... what did she look like? He tried so hard to squint his eyes as he looked in her direction, but to no avail.

"How did you get lost, exactly?" He heard her ask, her breath's scent driving his fantasy wild. He could just imagine.

"I... went for a run. Before sundown."

"Makes sense. It wasn't really snowing before night time, was it?"

"No." He responded, not sure what to add. Not while anxiety was practically killing him.

"You run, often?"

He didn't understand why she was making this small talk. Regardless, he appreciated it as he began to calm down and take his mind off everything else.

"No. First time... and probably last."

He heard her giggle. It was too adorable for him.

 _This saber I just met. That I haven't even seen. We're just-_

As he was lost in thought, he felt the ground below him vanish as he took the final step before falling.

Diego heard her scream his name. Soon after He felt her claws reach at him as he started to fall, cutting his arms a bit before luckily latching onto his paws. He heard her struggling to hold on. Her claws dug into his skin as he yelped in pain. He just dangled there, not feeling any ground below him. Not feeling anything in the bottom half of himself, to be honest.

His heart raced. Death possibly only tired paws away.

Diego could feel the effort she was putting into it. She jolted back, but it only led to her paws slipping on the ice as she inevitably drifted off the edge. He only felt the sudden drop, her paws still latched on as the two fell off the cliff's edge. Too much initial shock flooded them to even bother screaming as they plummeted.

Luckily, the cliff wasn't too high. Both sabers hit the bottom of the nearly three second drop. Diego could feel snow explode in a cloud around them. Silence echoed. They groaned and twitched, sighs of relief soon after.

"I'm so cold Diego. Honestly." She said out of fear.

"Me too. I wish there was someway we could stay-

She gave him no time to finish that sentence as he felt her latch onto him, shivering like crazy. Her legs cuddled in. Her chest met his. Her head buried under his neck. They held on as tight as they could, getting body heat to warm them, though it was rather tough to do so because of their state of blindness. Legs bumped. Heads bonked a few times. But they both laughed it off, realizing how ridiculously unavoidable it all was. But it was all necessary to survive the night. All they had was minimal cover from the cliff's edge. Other than that, they only had each other.

He embraced it all. He realized everything he had at that moment. All he needed. Someone to hold. Some sort of connection.

"I'm so sorry I cut you." She murmured. Truthfully, he hadn't noticed the pain in his wrists until she brought it up.

"Don't be. At least... it's warmer down here"

"I just wasn't thinking." She blamed herself and seemingly wasn't getting over it. She only reached for his paws, pressing his chest a few times to better locate them. And she just started rubbing them. His paws were so cold as he could imagine hers were too.

"Really. It's fine. It doesn't hurt that much." He lied

She only sighed in response. He could tell she wasn't going to get over it anytime soon.

 _She's emotional... but in a good way._

So suddenly, a realization kicked in.

"You never... told me your name, by the way." Diego said in between shivers. In between the acceptance and defiance that this was really happening. That he was actually wrapped up warm with another saber.

"Oh... yeah..." she seemed to freeze up in place.

"The thing is, I don't like my name too much."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't. Simple as that." She sassed back. Diego only laughed in response.

"I'm sure it's fine."

"You say that now..."

"Really, what is it?" He was so eager to know. He knew he'd love it no matter what. Just like he knew he'd love the way she looked no matter what. He could feel her body. The amazing shape she was in. He knew she'd be beautiful. He just knew it. But _how_ beautiful?

"Shira."


	2. Chapter 2

Two Paws

Chapter 2

He cast a yawn as he began to stretch that following morning. Thoughts crossed about his own life. Typical everyday thoughts that led to nowhere. In a way, he was still asleep, subconsciously drifting away from reality, hardly remembering his wake.

His eyes were so tired. His body was so weak. So exhausted. So very comfortable.

He'd stay there forever if he could. The warmth got the best of him.

His mind went on and off with the previous night. How cold it was. How dark it got and how bad the blizzard became. And yet, something felt off. He kept thinking. Some memory was trying to come back. He swore he had it the moment he woke up, but his still tired state caused it to vanish.

He thought more about his den. His surroundings. Where the exit of the den was. The light would always reflect onto his face every morning.

And there lied the offset. There was no light that morning. The sun hadn't even made it over the cliff yet.

His eyes opened to the realization as his vision watered from his sleep insomnia. His head spun, not use to seeing the surroundings he was given.

At first, he didn't remember where he was. He wasn't in a den. He was outside laying in the snow.

And due to this unrealistically comfortable feeling he was experiencing, the golden saber didn't even realize the body he was wrapped around. It all just felt natural when he woke.

His first glance at her was the color of silver. Second glance was the black stripes. Her pelt was so unique and was in no way expected from Diego.

Her head was buried in his neck, so he could only see the top and back of it, her perky round ears just poking above. Two earrings dangled on her right ear. He adored it all along with the tinted grey color behind her head that went down to her neck.

And the scent was one more thing he found himself losing his mind over. Just about everything about her gave Diego something to lose his mind over. Just to have his instincts take control. Not a care in the world for the consequence.

So much hesitation. So much fear and worry for what he thought of doing. But the longer he waited, the less it mattered. That was his life. Holding everything in. Never letting anything show. Every saber in the pack he grew up in labeled him, calling him names like "stump" or "drip" or pretty much anything that made fun of the lack of personality he had. He's heard them all. Just because he was born that way.

He was never sure how to open up. He was never comfortable. It usually just meant another panic attack he had to endure from trying.

But this saber... she was different. Something was. He wasn't sure what.

He choked on his fear. His self doubt. He took a deep breath before leaning forward and pressing his lips to her forehead, the quietest of kisses puckered. The taste felt possessive. Controlled. To die for.

He slowly lifted his head back, praying for life that she wasn't just waking up. Praying that she didn't feel it.

And that's all he did. Only because he felt so much better afterwards. Because something was finally released inside of him. This feeling of thanks and appreciation for her willingness to help. To show sympathy. To care. Now he could just lie there with her body in his arms, imagining that she really was his.

He knew anyone else would've labeled that as pathetic. But he didn't care. He stopped caring a long time ago as he just rested there, stroking her side, feeling the rib cage.

And that sparked a concern he had just now noticed. She felt... thin. Diego didn't know why he never realized before. After all, he had been holding her for the past nine hours. Of course, he knew he wouldn't have the bravery to ask her anything regarding her weight.

 _Might as well go jump off a cliff... oh, wait._

Her thinness just gave him an idea, that's all.

Diego felt her twitch. Muscles and limbs moved as she adjusted herself. He was almost scared that she'd forget where she was at first and completely freak out.

The tiger's anxiety, in a way, prepared him for things. Things that didn't always work out. He planned out what he'd say when she woke. He thought about the possibilities. The outcomes. But there was one thing he wasn't ready for. One thing he could have never been prepared for.

Her face.

She had turned to see him. Diego remembered fantasizing everything about her. What she'd look like. Every detail. Every stitch of her pelt.

Before that moment, he found his own guessed fantasy too high hoped. But now... he found it to be laughable and his guesses were no where close to right. His whole definition of beauty seemed to change and enhance as he truly saw her for the first time.

The eyes on both of them darted back between faces and bodies. Both sabers scanned over the other, Diego being aware that she was just seeing him for the first time, too.

 _Those eyes... no way. Why's the world doing this to me?!_

It was strange, though. Something seemed to spark in her eyes. She gave a look. One that he's never seen any saber give before. Curiosity was the closest he could compare it to.

 _Say something._

As he opened his mouth, fear rushed back in about that kiss he gave her on the forehead. It still paranoid him. And so he just kept his mouth shut and waited for her to speak.

"Hey." She spoke, resting her chin in his chest and looking up at him, staring deeply and smiling beautifully. It was the first time he actually noticed the complexity of her eyes. How they were so unique. So vivid.

 _This is actually too much._ Diego laughed to himself.

"Hi." He could think of nothing else to say back.

 _That's it? Really?_

And she just giggled in response as her lips let her teeth show and her eyes squinted.

 _How is she so comfortable with this? Being so close to me?_

He had to readjust himself and inch his head away a bit. Anything to refigure his mental state from completely breaking down.

But she only scooted in closer and really let him feel every curve of her body slide up between his paws. Every stroke of her soft pelt nestled into his own. All the while, his stubborn mind kept telling him that he didn't deserve a single bit of this.

"It's still kinda cold this morning, don't you think?" She asked, a teasing tone in her words. Her breath seemed to intoxicate him.

It also was, in fact, still freezing cold outside. The cliff's edge that hung twenty feet above them didn't help much. Diego had only now noticed due to everything else in his mind being directed towards her.

"Yeah... um..." his mind was elsewhere at that moment.

"What?"

"You're still okay? From that fall, I mean."

She looked at him for a second before trailing her eyes elsewhere. It paranoid Diego to not know what she was thinking.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

As they laid there, Diego realized his paws were still on her waste. As he released them, he remembered something.

"Not to change the subject or anything, but... are you... hungry by chance?"

"I guess... I mean, you don't have to..."

The more he thought about it, the more he worried that he was thinking too far head. He had no idea where she came from. How she ended up there that previous night. The way he saw it, they were only together now because of how ungodly the weather was. They needed each other to survive. Now they can go their separate ways. Back to their own lives.

And by god, did that depress him.

"I can get something if you want." He blurted out, willing to do anything to make her stay. And he almost cursed out loud to himself for suggesting that.

 _If I'm lucky enough, I'll get something._

He knew he wasn't capable. He knew how bad of a hunter he was. But that was the last thing he wanted her to find out.

"It's fine. I'm really not that hungry."

As she said that, she got startled to the sound of her stomach growling.

Diego only looked at her in amusement as he laughed. All the while, she could only look away in embarrassment.

"I bet you're not." He smirked as he got up, releasing his embrace on her.

After about five seconds of standing there, the chills he got from the cold weather made him consider diving back into her warmth.

"You don't have anywhere to be?" He asked before walking off, really wanting to make sure.

"No. Why?" She answered back quickly. The way she said it though, really just fueled Diego's concern for her. But he kept that thought on hold for the time being.

"I'm just concerned about you, is all." He said rather softly, walking off before giving her anytime to respond.

Unlike what he was hoping for, searching for food wasn't any help towards his paranoid driven anxiety. As he wandered the forest, his mind kept tracing back to her.

 _Why is she being so nice to me? I don't get it. I can hardly say a word to her. Is it maybe that... she feels sorry for me?_

His mind was so stuck up about her, that he almost didn't notice the herd of bison that wandered the forest in front of him. He had to freeze in his tracks, not taking the chance that they'd seen him from movement.

But he had no cover. No where to hide. Plus, these creatures weren't exactly the friendliest to take down. The tiger recalled a few times where members of his old pack would come back from a hunt, exhausted, bruised and cut up. They'd admit their failure in taking one down. It was always these big horn defensed power houses. But the reward for taking one down was nothing short of worth it. A few sabers had been killed to his recollection. He had never seen one himself... until now.

And there were three of them. One large and two smaller.

As the three bison stopped to watch the vegetation spread across the forest, Diego considered bailing. He wasn't going to just risk his own life. But the chance he was going to find anything else. That was slim. Especially in this weather.

But the more he debated, the more his mind went back to her. How she must be starving despite insisting otherwise. Just thinking about it. Thinking about her. His final decision was almost instant.

He attacked from the rear, instantly slashing at the largest of the three. His claws extended as far as he could allow them to and he held nothing back for the first couple of seconds, the cuts going as deeply and as lengthy as possible.

The other two had already heard the cries from their parent, Diego being too busy with the advantageous element of surprise to see the one on the left charge right into him, knocking him off his feet. And he felt the blow. He felt his rib cage get punctured as he hit the ground. Already, he knew he made a terrible mistake. How even a whole group of sabers would have a struggling time taking down one bison, let alone three at once.

The blows kept coming as the tiger was given no chance to lift himself back up. The two bison kept taking turns wailing on him, stomping at his limbs and ramming their horns into his side.

So far, luckily, the tips of their horns haven't directly struck him. Minutes went by, his bloodied state getting him to accept what was to happen. His groans and cries amplified with every contact the two beasts made. Tears flooded his vision, hardly being able to see the attacks as they came. Blood fused into his lips, his pelt caked with red and torn skin.

So many bones either punctured, bruised or broken. He was getting tenderized by the minute.

He just couldn't find it. No strength to get out. No chance to see her ever again. That was, until the right bison rammed into him so hard that his horns went underneath Diego's body, basically into the dirt and lifted him off the ground.

The bison charged the tiger directly into a rather large tree, the saber yelping loudly to the collision. Seconds later, he heard a crack, assuming it was his body's almost boneless form.

But his assumption was wrong as he felt the tree he was against begin to tip over, the echoing creaking alerted the two bison to take off while Diego just had enough time and strength to roll out of the way as the tree slammed into the ground, his face buried into the snow.

He was expecting the hits to continue afterwards, but they didn't as he looked to see the two smaller bison take off.

His breathing filled the silence of the forest. The bleeding and tearing still struck pain in him as he grit his teeth and groaned from it all as he turned his head to where the tree fell. Directly on top of the large bison he was going after from the start. The pitch black eyes gave no blinks. The mouth and tongue hung open. The hundred plus feet tall tree had fallen right into the stomach.

It was a bloodied mess. More than he honestly wanted to see. But what he wanted to see more was her reaction to him bringing this titan of an animal back.

Getting it out of the tree was no easy task either, nor was the journey back to where he left her. Of course, he was only hoping he didn't get lost again. But all the while, the eagerness, the curiosity. It all fueled his strength and energy. He truly believed he wouldn't have been able to bring it back if not for her. And as he got back to the enclosure in the cliff side, as he saw the jaw drop and the eyes widen, he knew for sure, that it was all worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

Two Paws

Chapter 3

The whole time they ate, Diego would constantly eye her. Expressions of amusement struck the tiger's face as he watched her go ballistic with the carcass, chomping her jaw around as much meat as possible, never stopping to even breath.

They cut off their separate pieces to start with. But Diego didn't eat as much as he did observe her, taking in everything. She was practically standing up, paws pressured down on the slab of meat as she bent down to eat.

As her head finally rose for the first time since she started, Diego smirked at the amount of red from the meat's juice on her face. So strongly, he considered just walking over and running his tongue up her face, licking it clean and seeing the reaction on her face.

And that was the pinpoint on why he wouldn't. He didn't know. He was too concerned about how she'd react. About the consequence.

Truthfully, he was surprised she was still there as he returned with food. He still found it hard to believe she had nothing else to do. No where else to be.

All the while, Diego was still under the unbearable pain of what went on getting this food. His stomach ached and bruised. Some parts ruptured of torn flesh and blood. And Shira hadn't noticed at all because the moment she saw the carcass, she dove right into it, not even saying so much as thanks.

But Diego didn't mind a single bit. He knew she was starving. He could sympathize. He could understand. Something that no saber had ever done for him prior to leaving the pack.

The majority of the carcass's limbs were gone as she came to a full belly, hiccups jolting past her lips, seemingly exhausted for eating at the speed that she did. She looked his way, juice still dribbling down her chin. A small belch came from her mouth as stuffed as she was.

As embarrassing as it was to her burning face, it was nothing but adorable in Diego's mind.

He considered smarting back about her insisting that she didn't need anything to eat. That she was fine. But the more he gazed at the beauty that lied behind her predator instincts, the more he yearned for attachment.

As she gazed back, she finally noticed the bloodied state Diego was in. Only now was it becoming dark as the day settled in, the pitch blackness almost to a maximum once again.

"Oh sh-" she caught herself, startled by the red that leaked from his own pelt. She whipped the dribble from her mouth.

"What happened?! I... I mean- I'm so sorry I didn't realize before!"

Before he could respond, she rushed over to him and scanned him over.

 _She's so emotional._

"Come here. Sit down." She somewhat demanded, leading him over to the cliff edge where they slept the previous night.

"Anything hurt?" She asked, feeling around his entire body with her paws, making it the most difficult task for Diego to not purr.

"Everything hurts... a lot." He groaned, gritting his teeth.

"She sighed, feeling him more lightly than before.

"I'm sorry this startled you." He started, "A bison that big is gonna give anyone problems."

"I still can't believe you took it down." She said, admiration in her words that fueled Diego's interest in her.

"That was the biggest one of the three." He added, stiffening up to how close she was to him, her breath's scent seeming like an aroma.

"There were two more?! Are you kidding me?!" She raised her voice, a smile of disbelief crossed her face.

"Yeah... that's kinda why... I'm so beat up." He groaned as he lied down, Shira only following suit.  
"How'd you even get out?!" She asked, seemingly more interested by the second.

Diego didn't want to tell the truth about it, though. How he would've easily been killed if it weren't for the tree crashing on top of the bison and scaring the other two off.

No. He wanted to impress her.

"The other two just took off eventually. I'm not really sure why. At that point I was just able to finish the one off." He lied.

"I still can't believe you risked your life doing that." She murmured, still gently stroking his shoulders. Something in her voice seemed to delve deeper into the connection they were creating.

Regardless of what she said, he knew the reason he did it. He knew why he did something so crazy. So insane. So suicidal.

 _Because of her._

"I did it because I knew how hungry you were." He answered, partially true.

She opened her mouth, almost responding until she thought about it more and ultimately had nothing to say. And that just encouraged Diego to open up.  
"Shira... I don't think you've eaten in days."

"What makes you say that?" She turned her head away, obviously in a state of denial.

"Well... that half eaten bison kinda says a lot."

"Diego..." she smirked and giggled before sighing and resting her eyes on him.

"You don't have to worry about me." She assured him, nudging him on the shoulder, forgetting that he was bruised just about everywhere as he yelped in pain.  
"Sorry."

"So much was going through Diego at that moment. How she talked to him. How comfortable she seemed to be around him. How unbelievably nice and caring she was being. He's never met anyone like her before.

 _Maybe that's just how she is._

Or maybe there was something more. The fact, sadly, was that he could never be sure unless he took the risk. One far greater than trying to take down a whole platoon of enraged bison.

And that risk... was to just lean forward and show her. The opportunity was right there. Nothing, physically, stood in his way.

I've been alone for so damn long. I want to feel something else... for once.

But there was also the other side of his mind that hesitated. It convinced him that all this was too good to be true. The first saber he's ever developed an interest for, with some form of connection, no less. He kept thinking he was being deceived by it all. No way was this meant to be. And his emotions showed as Shira noticed the hurt on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, seeming like a broken record at that point.

"Everything just... hurts so much." He gritted. And he meant that in a far greater context than he assumed she'd take it in. But regardless, he saw the look of concern on her face. Almost like she knew what he meant, her eyes staring deeply into his. He felt so close to her, never being so ready to just pounce on her and show everything he's kept bottled up inside.

"But something else came across his mind just as simultaneously. Something he needed to know. Something that would bring him closer to the bigger picture.

"Shira... you... really don't have anything else going on? No pack or anything?"

Even though he felt closer than ever to her at that moment, asking that question gave a look in her that made him feel distant. Already, he knew he messed up.  
Shira bit her lips, eyes rolled as she thought.

"Diego... I don't mean for this to sound mean in any way, but..."

As she started, Diego already felt hurt from her obvious annoyance with his repeating questions.

"That's none of your business."

And that truly struck more pain in him than getting trampled by a bison a thousand times.

Just as instant, she got up from his embrace and went to sit down elsewhere, her back facing away from him.

 _Nice one, you dolt._

Her unwillingness to tell him about her own life only sparked the reminder of his lack of communication. He always blamed himself for how others responded to him. He might as well be an entirely different animal at this point. And it only rose the same anger induced question he had asked himself every day of his life.

Who am I and what am I doing here?

He eyed her from behind. Her figure. Her image. He could nearly feel the softness of her pelt just by looking at it, wanting so badly to cuddle up around her again.

I'd give anything.

His heart pounded of intention. Of desire. Of addiction. Of some other fourth thing. And the cold was just adding to his yearning through out the night.  
The tiger got up and limped over to her, his sores still ached with every step. As he drew closer, he nearly expected her to get up and move anywhere that wasn't near him.

But as Diego lied down beside her, she didn't move a muscle. Her head still rested and turned away.

"Shira. Can you... look at me, please?" So much hesitation in his words. They felt so soft. He felt so soft.

Shira noticed the hesitation. The words he choked and stuttered on as she lifted her head and turned to gaze her eyes on him.  
"I just..." He lost focus for a second as she looked at him.

"I just want to help. If we're ever going to get out of here, that is. I... didn't mean to keep hounding you with questions, I just-

He probably would've gone on talking for the entire night had she not wrapped her arms around him, necks over lapping.

 _Oh my god._

"I know, Diego. I'm sorry for being like that." She said with her head rubbing up his neck.

"It's fine. But if you ever want to tell me anything, you know you can."

"I know..."

He had to swallow his own emotions from going any further, realizing that the moment was enough for now.

"Where do you plan on going from here, then?" He heard her ask. By that point, the darkness had raised to a one hundred percent opacity, the tigers being unable to see one another.

"I think it's best to stay here another night. We're sure to find a way out during the day."

"We could've tried earlier today, you know?"

"When you were that hungry? I doubt it."

"He heard her scoff playfully.

"We could've managed, I'm sure."

And he just scoffed back, remembering how well that worked last time.

 _Ended up in a ditch._

For him, though, it just meant one more night feeling her warmth and softness and one more night where he got the best sleep of his life.

As he held her, he noticed the warmth wasn't there. Her pelt. Her body warmth. They were cold. She was so cold.

 _She must be so numb._

Her chattering breaths only further convinced him. She wasn't saying anything about it, though. Not that it mattered much as Diego tightened his warmth around her, really trying to cover as much of her body as possible with legs intertwined. He never considered his own warmth as the night's killer temperatures were striking his back side.

It still boggled his mind that she allowed all of this. Regardless of how cold it was, he still fantasized that there was something more to this. More to why she was letting him.  
And that fantasy seemed to come true as he heard what he never thought he'd ever hear.

She purred.

It was just for a second. Neither saber moved a muscle or said a word. Not that Diego would've even done so much as smirk because of it. He didn't want her to think that he heard. He could also tell that she was fighting herself to not do it again.

Diego figured it was just instinctive. Feeling this warm, having another body so close to her own. It was only normal and he had to discredit the idea that it had anything to do with her being interested in him.

 _No chance in Hell, anyway._

The uncontrollable thoughts inside each of their minds did nothing but tire them out until they both started drifting to sleep.

 _Why won't she tell me anything, though? Does she not trust me? Do I need to open up to her?_

He shook his thoughts elsewhere.

 _No. I've said enough that was unnecessary. Telling her I care. That I'm worried about her. All this cliche' bullshit. For what?_

His mind traveled farther to what they would do when they get out of the forest. That is, if they ever do.

She seems so nice. So fun to be around... but... I'm probably not the same to her.

The fact that he'd never form any sort of relationship with her, or anyone for that matter, furthered his depression. His inability to look forward to the future.

He heard her light breathing as her mouth stayed open and her eyes closed. She seemed completely knocked out from the food's energy.

Diego's mind raced, her head dangling over his neck, her mouth just inches apart from his own as he glared down at her.

 _Don't even think about it._

But everything he was witnessing, the perfect form of her facial appearance, the scent of her light breathing and the entirety of the warmth around her pelt. All that was left were those eyes that indescribably seemed to change his world whenever he saw them. Sadly, she was asleep as far as he knew.

Suddenly, there was zero hesitation as his mouth had already reached for her own. He tried being as soft and gentle as he could, fearing she would wake. But truthfully, a part of him didn't care anymore. Because that part of him... was her.

 _She's a part of me._


	4. Chapter 4

Two Paws

Chapter 4

The tiger's eyes sprang open to the following morning's sun that seeped past the dense forest branches.

He gazed to his side, smiling at her sleeping presence and becoming amused with how heavy of a sleeper she was.

His neck rested and his eyes then darted to the skies above. As he took his mind elsewhere, he felt a drop of water hit his face.

The tiger groaned in annoyance as his eyes squinted, looking to the skies. He could see the snow that was dripping down the icicles from the cliff hanging above.

Before he had time to consider, and as if his paranoia was starting to affect reality, a sudden wind drew force into the icicles. One inevitably snapped off.

The moment he heard, he grabbed Shira by the sides and pulled her out of the way and, of course, woke her up as they plowed into the snow beside them.

"Diego?! What the hell?!" She grumbled, eyes dizzy from the sudden wake.

Diego just breathed in deeply and exhaled in relief. He was so focused and shocked at the icicle that Shira had to look behind her to see what he was so worked up about.

The icicle had to be a good three feet tall with the base extending to half a foot. Probably around thirty pounds. It landed directly tip down, the bottom half being swallowed by the snowy ground.

 _Oh god... That could've killed her._

Just the thought about it made Diego hold her tightly. He also took in the realization of how lucky that was. To wake up just in time.

"Diego... I..." Shira expressed, finding it difficult to comprehend what almost happened so quickly out of the blue.

"I think we need to get out of here." Diego insisted.

They both just breathed, eyeing each other indefinitely before ultimately agreeing and heading off to hopefully find a way out of the forest at last.

As they walked, Diego had a hard time keeping his eyes off her backside as he trailed from behind, trying so hard to keep his head to the ground, all the while his instincts were ready to pounce on her.

The idea reminded him of what he did the previous night. How good it felt. How amazing it tasted. How much he wished she would've given the same back.

At the same time, he couldn't believe he got away with it. First the kiss on the forehead and now that.

 _Karma's not actually a bitch right now._

He smirked to himself for that one, seeing as though things have turned the tables. His luck had seemingly run out before he met her. Maybe she was all the luck he needed.

All the luck he was looking for.

It tortured him when she suddenly stopped to bend down and stretch, the tiger almost not reacting in time to stop before bumping into her.

 _Walk beside her, you dumdum._

And he did just that as he padded around and to her side, to which she turned and smiled before the two continued walking.

"Diego. Sorry for not saying anything before. For what you did back there."

"I don't even want to think about it." He quickly said, the thought of a giant stalactite piercing right through her. The imagery. The thought process would've been nearly unbearable.

"It was so fortunate that you were awake."

"Yeah." He laughed, nothing more to say.

"And I'm sorry for not thanking you for the food."

"You don't have to." He sighed, seeing her gaze at him before snapping her neck back in front.

"Listen, when we get out of this forest-

"If." She interrupted.

"... if we get out, what's the plan from there?"

He knew she would be annoyed by that question, knowing that she was still secretive to her personal life. But he stopped caring, knowing that they were reaching closer to the inevitable.

"Who knows where we'll be coming out from." She answered with lack of confidence.

"Well, yeah, but I mean, if that's the case then is it just gonna be one more night... and then another... and so on?"

Though he was sounding annoyed, he was just faking it, not minding spending the rest of his life with this saber.

"Diego, what do you want? It's not like I had a plan to begin with."

"Huh... well that makes two of us."

Shira sighed, seemingly at an end with her frustration.

"Diego. How did you know I was hungry?"

"What?"

"Yesterday morning... how did you know?" She asked as though she knew the answer. As if she knew that he knew the answer.

"I think you know why." He said, biting his lips and eyeing her body.

"I've been stuck out here for two weeks, Diego.

Diego had to stop and take in the words she said.

"Two weeks?! Out here?!"

She nodded.

"But... how have you...

"Vegetation. That's all I could survive off of. For two weeks. It... it was...

For the first time, he saw true sadness in her eyes. On her face. In her movement as she collapsed herself into him.

"I just want to go home, Diego."

Diego breathed it all in as he held her, comforting her.

"You poor thing." He murmured. His attachment for her and the emotion he was willing to show made him speak words so soft.

"When I ran into you, I was so overjoyed. I was so desperate. I needed so much help. I was so hungry. I was so homesick. I...I was..." she spilled out everything that she had been keeping bottled up inside.

"Shira, listen. It'll be alright. We're going to get out of here. I promise."

His words seemed to calm her down from her rapid breaths and heavy crying. She smiled, eyes still watering as she gave him a big long hug.

"Hey, Diego?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

It amused Diego how quickly things have changed. Days ago, she was acting so tough. So independent. Still caring, but less worrisome in a way.

Minutes turned into hours, the two sabers aimlessly wondering and making sure they weren't just going in circles.

"I really had no idea how big this forest was." Diego sighed as he stopped to look around. All the while, Shira had a worried look on her face saying that she wasn't entirely confident in his own confidence.

But just as quickly, there was this spark of eagerness in her eyes along with the smirk on her lips.

"It might be a little faster..." she started, scooting up closer to him, only inches apart, "if we have a little race."

It seemed so seductive the way she said it, almost in a whisper. But he figured it was all coincidence. And still, it took all the willpower he had to not purr because of it.

"If you want..."

"Great... so... lets go."

He was caught off guard as she took off instantly.

 _Oh, come on. That's not fair._

And he took off after her, against the wind and through the trees, they plowed through the ankle deep snow.

The entire time they ran, Diego found himself falling behind and running out of breath. It just reminded him of how out of shape he was compared to any other saber. How he had to basically rely on every other pack member to bring back food since he saw himself as incapable. He felt so guilty over it.

And that guilt rose as the distance between them increased further by the second. But what struck him, oddly, was a boost of energy. A feeling of determination. The very idea that he was losing her. That he would inevitably remain alone. And he just didn't want that anymore. He knew he didn't. He's seen her. He's felt her. He knew exactly what he wanted.

Before he knew it, the distance between them was thinning down. Diego was too felt up with emotion to know whether she was just slowing down or if he was speeding up. But that soon became irrelevant as he found himself close enough to jump her, snow plowing and bodies sliding to a stop as Diego pinned her down.  
They both gazed at each other, their breaths heavily panting of exhaustion.

"What'd I win?"

"I five knuckle sandwich, you bonehead." She sassed back with a soft punch on the shoulder.

It would probably remain hard for Diego to believe that he could talk to her so easily. He could actually function words from his brain and out of his mouth. Nothing felt awkward or uncomfortable when it came to her. He felt she was really something as he held her shoulders down, so tempted to give her a big long kiss on her neck.

"Thought you would outrun me?" He smirked, knowing that female sabers were generally the more agile whereas the males were good for their strength. So it was painfully obvious how unusual this was.

What neither of them seemed to notice as they glued their own distractions for one another was the contrasting brightness of the afternoon sun. They had made it out of the forest at last.

They ended up right next to the shorelines of a frozen lake, big enough to be mistaken for an ocean, the other side barely visible from the horizon. Diego was certain the area was no where near where he entered from.

Her eyes fluttered with excitement as she looked around. Moments after, she squirmed her body out of Diego's grasp, laughing playfully as she slid out and got up.

They eyed for seconds longer before turning towards the plated lake in front of them.

Diego only stood there as Shira walked closer to the lake, seemingly lost in thought. At the same time, Diego was thinking about what would happen from here. How they would just go their separate ways back to their own lives, resulting in him being alone, of course.

But he didn't want her to leave. He choked on his sadness, took a deep breath and considered spilling all emotion onto her. Just to show her. Just to know. Nothing else really mattered anymore.

He was about to speak his mind right in front of her, his heart skipping beats of eagerness as he would open his lips and tell her how perfect she was. How he saw her no other way. How throughout the few days he knew her, he developed this seemingly impossible connection. Seemingly impossible comfort. Seemingly impossible relation.

 _She talks to me like I'm alive. I talk to her like I'm alive. I don't want her. I need her. Breathing. Feeling. These prove nothing that I'm actually living. She does._

He only wished he had saved those thoughts for later as she spoke before he was able to.

"I think I know my way from here back home."

The tiger didn't respond, only flashing his eyes her way, watching her turn around, her smile turning his whole world.

"You know you're way from here?" She asked

"Yeah. I think so." He lied, not having a clue what side of the forest he was at. But he didn't know what to do at this point. He was too scared. Too sad. Anxiety was at a peak.

Tension inside him built. No answer seemed clear. He didn't care to go back to living on his own. Living off of vegetation much like she had to do for the past few weeks as she claimed.

"Diego... I might not be standing here now if it weren't for you... and... I don't really-

"You don't have to thank me, Shira... you'll never have to."

She looked as if she was trying to find meaning to the words he spoke. But ultimately, she just nodded her head.

Everything inside Diego was screaming at him to latch onto her, hold her and never let her go.

 _I don't want her to leave._

And he knew those words would likely change the course of their fate. To stop them from separating. But she had her own life that Diego knew nothing about. He couldn't just assume she had nothing else going on. That she had the time and energy to care about him anyway.

 _Or like she has an interest in me to begin with._

He just didn't want to seem too needy. He wanted her to think he was independent even though that couldn't have been further from the truth.

And so he just watched. He sat there as the sun had started setting and she walked off down the lake, shadows moving and taking over the night. Even though she sounded happy to be going back home to her own life, he swore he saw a look of need in her eyes. He knew something was wrong.

He didn't follow her. He didn't do anything as she completely disappeared. He just sat there, ears drooped and eyes watered. He just felt too awkward to ask if he could spend another night with her. Too much fear built up.

 _She's probably taken, anyway._

The thought never crossed his mind until now. Only when she was gone. And it only doubled the anxiety and fear inside him, realizing that someone like her couldn't possibly be single.

 _Amazing personality. Amazing looks. It's all subjective, I guess... but still... what are the odds?_

Who was he kidding? It wasn't going to happen even if he told her. Nothing ever happens to him. And he was left with that thought as he slowly padded his way to search for some place to sleep for the night. And he honestly didn't care where as the freezing snow at his paws were becoming a numbing irritation.

Along the way, the more he thought about it, the more upset he got with himself. Even at that point, he had a choice to just turn around and go back. To look for her and stay by her side. But he always chose against it. Anxiety chose for him.

The temperature had dropped drastically the minute the sun set. And being out in the open plains meant the strong winds pushed the cold into him.

His exhaustion got the best of him quickly as he gave up and went with a boulder that gave a small inclines roof. He figured it was good enough as he dug his claws in the snow beneath until grassed remains were left.

The tiger circled a few times and lied down, sighing of exhaustion and disappointment. His heart tore and his eyes leaked.

"I didn't want you to leave, Shira."


	5. Chapter 5

Two Paws

Chapter 5

She wasn't getting out of his head as he tried to rest that night. Minutes kept passing as he tossed and turned in his struggle to sleep. Every time he thought of her, the image of her face tracing together in his mind, his heart raced. She prevented him from calming down and relaxing and enabling sleep.

The tiger's thoughts shifted to how he never tried to form connections before with other sabers. How there was something unique about this saber that he had somewhat been forced to connect with. Ironically, it was likely the only way it could've happened. The tiger never would've just walked up to another female and try to connect, let alone start a conversation. It never made sense to him. Nothing about communication ever made sense to him. That's why he felt so fucked in this world.

But she did. She made sense. Somehow, for reasons he can't explain. And that's why he was so intrigued. So interested.

And it drove him mad to think about as he growled and banged his paws against his head. His cries mixed in with heavy breathing. His breath was visible to the cold of the night, the warmth of it dying instantly as it reached out his mouth and into the winter's night.

He just wanted to know. He should have stopped her before she left. He should of ran up to her. He should have pulled her around. But he just let her go. The fact that she actually did leave showed it all. She never had a thing for him in the first place.  
But she was so welcoming. So understanding.

His thoughts kept repeating back in a cycle and he was scared to think that she was just like that. Like there was no deeper meaning behind the way she acted around him. It was likely a childish fantasy at best to think about, but there was just something about the way she would rest herself in his own warmth. The way she'd say things in such an alluring way. And the way she looked at him. That, alone, would've been enough to convince him.

 _Those few days... that was probably the closest I'd ever get to... living._

He deeply breathed of his sadness as stutters broke out between. He had to get up, tired of sleep not working with him. He tried to regain himself as he looked around, glad to finally be able to see at night and rather well thanks to his naturally enhanced predator vision.

 _I could look for her right now._

He considered it, stepping out from under the tall boulder he had been resting under.

 _If nothing else, I need to at least know that she's safe. That she made it home._  
He knew it was better off sanity wise if he had the knowledge that she was safe with her loved ones. Even though he yearned for further desires, it would've at least been something.

Along with that, he knew her scent better than anything. It was practically all his nose payed attention to while they were together. He saw that as his chance to search. To find her before he lost the remembrance of her scent.

Snow had just started to fall as he traveled around the lake, trying to keep his focus on her scent. However, that wasn't easy to his lack of surprise as he constantly found himself distracted by his constant thinking about her. How she seemed like a total fantasy, his mind nearly convincing him that she wasn't real.

 _Feeling more alive than I've ever felt. That's very much real._

Soon he found the area that the two of them had departed at. Luckily, the snow hadn't fallen enough to cover the tracks they had left and the tiger was able to easily follow where she went.

He kept on tracing her path in the cold and soon enough, they led him to a cave that rested just above the lake.

He wasn't sure if it was her cave. Or if she shared it with relatives. Or a mate. And he certainly didn't want to take the risk of walking in on something he'd regret.

At that point, he figured that she was fine. She was home. He could just walk away, back to wherever. Wake up everyday with no one. Do nothing all day for the rest of his life, which was to be limiting in that case. Except, that's not what he wanted.

He stood there in the cold wind that echoed throughout, paws getting frozen from the snow beneath.

 _If only she knew. If only anyone knew._

His brain struggled to contemplate. His heart raced of uncertainty as he walked down to the frozen lake's edge, sitting down and taking a deep breath. Tried as he did, he couldn't get her out of his head. He was obsessed with her.

The tiger stared down into the frozen lake, his reflection still visible through the thin ice. For a second, he thought he saw something beside his own image.

"Diego?"

His heart skipped a beat and his head jolted behind as his eyes received pleasure from her image.

"Oh... hey... how's it - I mean what's going on?" He stumbled, trying to not make it seem like he had been following her.

 _Yeah. What else does it look like?_

The silvered saber had walked down from the nearby cave and up to him, an unsurprising look of confusion on her face as her head tilted and her eyes squint.

"What are you doing here?"

Diego easily picked up on the annoyance in her voice, already knowing he made a bad decision finding her.

"I... well... I think I forgot something and... you know..." Now the words were really tipping around. Even thinking straight seemed nonviable at that point. The tension heated his body, so suddenly the cold around him seemed to disappear.

"Wait a second... It's like below zero in the middle of the night and you're just out here alone?!"

"So?"

"So what's up? Explain yourself." She insisted, walking up to him, her face only inches from his own. The small distance between them had Diego consider risking it all right there. To feel her lips on his and her soft face against his own.

"I just... You know, needed to come back and...

"And what?" She smarted, her patience growing limited. Her face nearly touched his. Their lips closer than ever.

The tiger took a deep breath before letting loose.

"I just wanted to make sure you made it back okay."

So instantly, her facial expression loosened. The tension. The annoyance. It all vanished.

"Diego... I told you. You don't have to worry about me. "

And the tiger really didn't know what to say back, knowing that she had said that before.

"It's hard to. I'm always worried about everything." The tiger responded, looking to the ground.

"You wanna... come inside?" She asked, her head tilting towards the cave behind her.

It really shouldn't have been a question considering the temperature nor the weather. As he followed her back in, he glanced around to see no one else there. She was alone.

As guilty as he felt to think it, he couldn't help but let the fantasizing over her continue./p

Shira sighed as she walked to the back end and lied down, chin to the floor and paws in front.

Diego merely wiped his eye of irritation, feeling awkward for being there.

 _Something seems different about her._

He stood there for a bit longer before she noticed his tensed state.

"You can sit down if you want."

Something about that sentence seemed to fuel this world ending feeling inside. It had the thoughts of delusion reside in him.

"I don't know what I want." He mumbled under his breath, tension and anger springing.

"What?"

"I don't know what I want in this god damn world anymore!" He spoke louder than usual as he shook his head, smirking of irritation, not caring what she thought of him spilling out everything.

"I don't know why I'm even here. I just wanted to make sure you were... you know. And you are."

She said nothing back, only gazing at him.

"Know what? I'm just gonna go." He said as he quickly walked out of the cave, the blast of cold air shivering his entire body. Seconds later, he heard her call his name out. He was about ten feet from the cave as she ran up in front of him.

"Diego, stop! It's freezing out here! Please... just stay."

He didn't move as she spoke his name and he was forced to look back at her, a look of worry and concern in her eyes and on her face.

"You don't have anywhere else to be." She spoke, the tiger's ears perking up, "Do you?"

He had to take a breather as she said this, swallowing his remaining fear. She knew. Somehow she knew his life even though he never told her. Maybe he was just that easy to figure out. The look he gave her in return answered her own accusation.

"It'll be okay." She smiled, nudging him on the shoulder. Those few gestures alone seemed to brighten his dark and cold night thus far.

"I don't know." The tiger had a hard time believing that as he followed her back into the cave. But as he sat down, the doubt seemed to slip as she leaned up against him, shoulders weighing on each other. Once again, so instantly, she was opening up.

"You're a good friend, Shira." His mouth spilled out, meaning every word of it, "I just don't want to be any kind of burden to you."

He wanted to use a different word besides the one he labeled her as. But nothing else came to mind without showing his true feelings. He was just too scared to risk it. He still didn't know enough.

"You're not. It's alright. I understand."

He never thought he'd ever hear those words. Everyone else practically spoke another language due to his inability to communicate. Along with that, he was still shocked that he could open up to her like that. The words could actually be sent from his brain and spilled from his mouth.  
For once, It's not like I'm talking to a wall.

She smirked as he gazed at her. She seemed to be lost in thought.

 _Or my eyes, hopefully. Because god knows I'm lost in her's._

As he stared in, feelings of relief and savoring bled into him. He thought about how close she was to him and how easily she seemed to trust him, really considering that it all wasn't just coincidental.

"Sorry. It's still kinda cold in here." She seemed to claim, insisting it to be the reason she was hugged up against him. Yet, the tiger couldn't have asked for a more pleasant temperature right then. It really wasn't that cold with a roof and walls surrounding them. There wasn't even any wind from the winter's night seeping into the cavern as they sat by the entrance. The moon shined brightly, adding contrast to their pelts.

"So this is your home?" He finally had the guts to say.

"Yep. Comfy enough for you?" She asked, leaning in and looking up at him, the moonlight's shine shading her face perfectly. Eyes reflecting and shining.

 _No way she's just like this._

He took a deep breath as he swallowed his fear.

"You live here... by yourself?" Diego spoke rather softly.

The tiger nearly regretted asking as she turned to eye him. And she gave that same look where she seemed to be looking deeper into him. Into his eyes, seemingly past them. Something about the idea. That she was alone. It sparked a certain fantasy inside both of their heads. One that couldn't control any biological urges.

Her mouth opened slightly, breathing softly onto his face. It all made him want to share so much with her. So much of what he kept to himself.

From his experience, showing anyone that he was dying on the inside. That he was desperately seeking help, it only led to others thinking that he was desperately seeking attention. So for the past couple years, he stopped showing it.

He painfully taught himself to never let anyone see him on the inside. But he evidently couldn't hide it from her. She saw right through him. Everything he said was something that she seemed to decipher correctly.

 _She knows me more than anyone and it's only been three days._

The tiger thought about practically everything. His life up to this point. All the wasted days. How he was left in the dark for so long while his whole life got away. Thinking about what path was the clearest to take. Realizing that the impact of one choice was so endless. Thinking that nothing was going to change. Knowing that through all these years, it still wouldn't disappear.

The look in her eyes. On her face. He saw the lust so easily. He never had to open his eyes to see the connection. He never had to open his heart to feel the love. She did it all automatically.

The feelings only furthered as she began to glance around his body. The tiger swore he saw a sense of admiration in her eyes as she scanned him over, which was odd because he knew he wasn't in the best shape. He never exercised. The only reason he wasn't over two hundred pounds was because of his fortunately high metabolism.

The more she scanned over him, the more he realized she was looking at all the cuts and bruises over his body that were still there from the previous night.

"I still can't believe you risked your life like that." She murmured, head against his chest and arms around his waist. All these gestures of caring and affection were so unfamiliar to Diego, but not uncomfortable.

"I couldn't just let you starve to death." He said quietly as it was softly.

"The guilt hasn't left me yet, you know." She said, choking on her own sadness and holding him tighter.

 _So she does care. There is something. I can't believe this is-_

His thoughts were cut short as he felt her tongue run along his shoulder. He could only freeze in place, stunned and unable to move. Unable to speak. Barely able to think, truthfully, as he was left focusing on her wet and smooth tongue that dragged along his body. He could feel her make her way further down, past his chest and to his stomach, grabbing him by the paw and forcing him to lay down. All the while, he was just praying that she wouldn't hear the purring that he had no control over.

 _She's just cleaning you! That's all she's doing! Stop fantasizing over everything she does!_

As much as his mind tried to convince him, the fact that she was running her tongue so slowly. So gently and even occasionally gazing up at him as her mouth hung her tongue out, the warmth of her breath felt on his ribs.

 _This is too much._

Before he could completely lose himself and do something he might later regret, he pulled himself away. His elbows supported him and his stomach faced up with his legs dragged along. He panted a bit from the initial tension.

In response, she did something he never would've thought he'd ever see her do.

She blushed. Deeply.

Silence took over as they were left looking away from each other. Diego gritted his teeth in annoyance with himself for pulling away. The truth was, he didn't want her to stop. He wanted to continue seeing his own fantasizing desires come to life and, at the same time, not risk doing something stupid over a possible misconception.

"Shira... I didn't-

"I'm sorry." She interrupted as she got up, turned around and sat where she was distanced from him. Diego could feel the irritation and tension that was going on inside her.

And he knew that if she was anything like him, just letting her be was probably for the best at the moment.

He never said a word back as the two were left thinking of the other. As Diego drifted to sleep, he was disappointed that he wasn't doing it with her in his arms where he could feel every portion of her body. All though, at this point, they were so close. They were already, practically, a couple. Diego just never would've imagined how easy and convent it could be. He just had to wait for nearly five years. He had to just not expect it and it happened. He never saw himself capable of something like that. To form connection. Maybe she was just special. Maybe she was just unique. Maybe they were already a couple before he held her in his arms for the first time.


	6. Chapter 6

Two Paws

Chapter 6

If any previous night was an indication, that next morning certainly drew a shock to the tiger. He had awoken to the sunrise to find her still sleeping. What was unusual though was finding her curled up next to him with her back leaning into his chest. It only seemed strange to Diego because he had fallen asleep the previous night in a somewhat detached fashion.

But as he found himself in her embrace for probably the tenth time, so much appreciation and thanks resided in him about her in just about every way possible. Just because of all the second chances she seemed to give him. It only made him further wonder if he'd ever get as many chances as it would take to finally get things right.

He strongly considered having his lips touch her forehead again. Or her neck.

 _Or her own lips. Because god... I want to do that again._

He purred in eagerness for it, remembering the softness. Remembering the unique traces in his thoughts, having never felt anything like it before. But ultimately he decided against it as he knew he would just be pushing his luck at that point.

So suddenly, he could hear her breathing become more intense. Oddly, it seemed to be in a rather lustful kind of way as the expressions came out of her mouth.

"Diego..." She mumbled as she rolled over, her eyes still closed as a smile spread across her lips. At first, Diego thought she had just woken up. That she was about to say something. But she didn't. Her eyes remained closed and her body began to twitch, limbs reaching in the air.

 _Is she dreaming? About... me?_

The tiger didn't really know what to do right then. He thought about getting up and sparing himself the uncomfortable situation, but that would only show that he wasn't intrigued. And that couldn't have been further from the truth.

Regardless of the awkwardness, she was still asleep. She had no idea what he was hearing. And it only intrigued him further. Every day seemed to sprawl up something new. For the first couple of days in years, he looked forward to something.

And that morning, he had her embrace as she gave out lustful expressions as she slept. She mumbled and slurred most of the words, but the one word the tiger could make out was his own name constantly repeating from her lips.

 _This shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be doing this. Come on... I should just get up._

And that didn't prove an easy task as he felt the coldness of the weather hit his pelt as he lifted himself off the ground, stretching and yawning with his claws extending outward before eyeing around the cave, remembering that it was hers. He recalled asking her if she lived alone and what that led to.

Even after a good night's rest, he was still left there thinking about it. Confused by it.  
 _What was she actually doing with her tongue?_

He choked on his disbelief, shaking his head and looking out towards the cave exit.

 _She has a thing for me? That's just too hard to believe no matter how much I try to._

Diego thought as his head turned to her sleeping presence in the morning sunrise that seeped through the cave opening. The contrasting colors of her pelt had his heart racing while the earring reflected light onto his face, slightly blinding him.

The light's warmth seemed to calm him of his rapid thoughts about her as he began to doze off, still feeling tired and figuring he could do with an extra hour of sleep anyway. The hour went by as he slipped in and out of consciousness, only thoughts about her keeping him awake. He had rolled over onto his back as he lied right up against the cave wall, stretching his limbs to keep himself comfortable.

As he was about to roll back over, he heard her yawn. He wanted to look over to gaze at those orbs for the first time that day, but his mind had something else planned.

As she lifted herself up to stretch, having not noticed him yet, the tiger closed his eye and pretended to sleep. In his mind, the only reason he did this was to see what she'd do. To be one step closer to finally knowing.

 _Or she could just walk out and I'll never see her again._

The fear from the idea that she'd leave had him consider getting up. As he was about to, he heard her paws pad over to him. Though his eyes remained closed, his stomach to the cave ceiling, he knew she was right there.

Only a couple dozen of seconds went by before he heard her whisper his name. Seconds later, she whispered it again.

Diego didn't open his eyes. He didn't move a muscle. He just continued to lay there, pretending to sleep and really taking in the sound of her voice and the addicting scent that roamed over her.

 _What could she say if she thinks I'm still asleep? Would she risk saying something right there? I mean... I wouldn't._

And that was really the whole game he was playing. He was just trying to get her to say something. Admit something. He didn't care if he was wrong. It didn't matter because in his heart, he wasn't. The one thing he's been more sure of than anything. How could that possibly be wrong?

There certainly was some doubt, but honestly, that disappeared the second he felt her lips press against his.

The tiger was frozen in shock, not expecting that in the slightest. Truthfully, he wasn't expecting anything in the slightest.

 _I've got to be dreaming._

As he lay there, face up, eyes closed, he wanted his own lips to take over and show her everything. His instincts fought for it, but somehow, he was able to control it as she only had her face to his for no longer than five seconds before her mouth lifted off his own.

His heart skipped a good five beats, all things considered. Having felt something he had wanted for a very long time. Longer than he was aware of. Now that it happened, he wasn't really sure what to think of it. All he knew was that he wanted to grab her paw, pull her down and wrap himself around every curve of her body.

His right eye was slightly open as it darted around, seeing her paws to the floor as she walked away, leaving the cave.

As soon as she disappeared, Diego jolted up, taking a deep breath from what just went on.

"Oh my god." He spoke quietly, raising a paw to his lips, the taste of her still recognized. A smile on his face was near inevitable as he thought about what this all must have meant.

The tiger wanted to follow her. He didn't know where she was going. He didn't know when she'd be back. But sitting there and wondering wasn't going to solve anything.

 _The hell with it._

He sprang up, thoughts going wildly uncontrollable as he made his way out of the cave... almost.

The moment he turned the corner past the entrance, his head collided and bonked into something, the impact being enough to knock him to the floor.

"Diego?! Oh my god! Are you okay?!"

The tiger lifted his head to see her knocked over too, her paw running over her forehead.

"Am I bleeding from the ears?" He asked, gripping his head of the slight pain.

"I don't think so." Shira answered, scanning him closely over.

"Then I must be okay." The tiger sassed back, eyes still rolling. But the whole time, all that went through his mind was what she did that morning. How she unlocked the answer he had been searching for since the moment he first rested eyes on her.

"You're up kinda early." Diego cast a smirk. Shira only smiled and shrugged in response.

"Um..." the tiger trailed off, at a loss of what to say and think. Ever since that act of affection. It felt like an entirely different saber he was talking to. Almost like he could say anything he wanted because he knew everything she wanted. But that was the problem. There was too much to let out. He wasn't sure how to go about it. Where to start. Luckily, she spoke up.

"Diego... I'm sorry for what I did last night." Her ears drooped and her head lowered.

"It's fine. I knew what you were doing. I know you were just trying to help. I just... instinctively..." he wasn't sure how else to explain the reason he pulled away from it as he sighed.

 _I should've just pulled you in closer, honestly._

Right then, it seemed like both of their eyes were unable to leave the other's. Diego saw so much pleading in her eyes. On her face. Symbolic, almost, to the rain drops that had suddenly fallen from the skies that morning.

Droplets hit their heads, splashes in their eyes. The tigers looked to the sky to see storm clouds that had sneaked their way right on top of them.

Thunder banged and jolted them both as they scurried back into the den. Diego was honestly surprised how calm she was about the storm, seeing as most of the females he grew up with wouldn't bother leaving the cave when it was raining out.

The rainfall got heavier by the minute and got loud enough to go over their voices. Even louder were both of their stomachs growling.

Just then, the tiger had an idea. Admittedly, due to the rain, probably not a very good one.

Though a waterfall practically poured from the sky, Diego figured he could quickly go out and get something, preferably not a bison this time.

 _And get as lucky as last time._

Before he could even offer, she took a few steps towards the exit.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat." She spoke, looking back at him.

 _Not a chance._

He couldn't imagine he'd ever let her do something like that in this weather. The world was a scary place. It'll eat anything alive. Whatever lets it. And that's why the tiger didn't want to risk any of it. Not on her.

"Shira... no. We can just wait til the storm's over."

"And when will that be, exactly?"

Diego lowered his head and sighed before the thunder yanked his head back up.

"How should I know?" He said of irritation, "But I doubt anything's gonna be out there during this storm."

"I know of a river nearby. There's probably a lot of fish out during this weather."

Personally, the tiger didn't care for seafood. It never appealed to him, but at this point, he didn't feel he had a say in it.

"I can go with you, then."

"Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine." She groaned, an obvious annoyance in her voice from the repetition.

"Well, give me a reason why I can't go." Diego argued, trying to walk around her to the exit, though she wouldn't let him.

"You did plenty for me the first night. I'd just feel undeserving if I let you do everything."

"That's not the problem. It's the weather. It's just not a good idea!" He insisted, raising his voice that actually went over the booming thunder.

"It's really close! But... I mean, why are you making such a big deal out of this?!" She stepped closer to him, loosing her patience.

"Well... I..." the tiger didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to tell her how worried he was about her and how important she was to him. Even though he knew what she thought of him.

 _She wouldn't just do that. Her lips to mine. For no reason._

Shira looked at him a bit longer before sighing and turning for the exit.

"I won't be long."

"Fine. But I don't need anything." Diego lied, his stomach nearly aching of hunger. He was only saying that so that it would be less work for her and lower the chances that something would happen to her.

"Your stomach is convincing me otherwise." She smirked, eyes gleaming of amusement. Diego only blushed in response. Before he could say anything, she had already darted out the exit, gone.

The tiger had the urge to go after her, but the thought of being overprotective told him otherwise.

 _She'll be fine. Quit worrying._

He growled to himself as he circled and lied down, head the floor, eyes staring into nothing but his own thoughts. His own life. How much of it had been wasted by his own definition. Taking his time to figure stuff out but only leading to nothing getting solved. And now maybe something had been solved. Something he wasn't expecting.

Something he might have never considered. Something he was skeptic over.

 _I don't need anything, Shira._

Eyes formed tears uncontrolled as he watched the pouring rain, almost feeling it from inside the cave.

 _I just need you._


	7. Chapter 7

Two Paws

Chapter 7

The pouring rain turned to hail as the storm worsened past the half hour. The tiger silently tapped his claws against the stone floor, barely keeping his patience... and his sanity. His frustration grew with every clash of thunder and lighting that echoed outside the cave. His body tossed and turned as he tried to rest, wanting some way to shut off his brain from thinking about her.

He really wanted to trust her words. To not worry about her. She kept insisting. She kept reminding.

 _And she better not get me anything._

Somehow, he knew she would. That was, if she actually came back. As he sat there thinking of that possibility, his mind also debated what he was going to do if she made it back. If he knew he wouldn't be given another chance at what he wanted. If life was on a possible thread.

 _There'd be nothing to risk at that point._

His lips curled under as his tongue played around, simulating what it would be like. To kiss her with both of their mouths open.

 _Those five seconds. That's all I could've probably hoped for._

The tiger growled at the reality of it all as he lifted himself up, now realizing he had been lying on a wet surface, a bit too close to the outside where it practically flooded. His pelt dripped from underneath. It was as irritating as it was cold.

 _This is ridiculous._

His paws soaked further until his patience was nearing an end, knowing that she can't force him from helping. It didn't make sense to the tiger. He could tell the lies she lied. He could see the sadness. He could feel it all falling down on him.

As the hour mark went by, Diego knew he should have made the call to sprint out the cave exit thirty minutes ago. Regardless, he wasn't going to wait any longer as he was already out the cave interior, splashing through what was now flooded. The storm rained down so intensely that mist had formed and acted as a sheet of fog, rendering his view distance useless.

He growled and whimpered as he pushed on, already feeling numb from the freezing rain. His limbs stiffened further as his progress kept reducing by the minute.

He roared her name a few times before giving in with his head down, water drizzling down his lips. He started panting as he ran out of breath due to his numbness requiring double the work just to walk. He couldn't feel anything except the pulsing pain of the ice temperature water.

 _She really felt the need to do this? In this weather?_

At that point, the tiger knew it was more than that. He knew why she did everything. Just like he knew why he did everything. It got him to realize that he couldn't hesitate any longer. He didn't want to wait and never find out. And now there might never be a chance to.

 _Come on, Shira. Please be alright._

He kept searching, seeking, reaching out for her. Tried as he did to see past the blinding rain, it showed no progress. He tried picking up her scent anyways, desperate for a miracle, only to get the expected result.

He wasn't sure how much more he could hold out for. If it wasn't for her, he would have collapsed from the cold minutes ago.

Soon, he found himself sliding downhill, muddied snow battering beside his feet as he struggled to keep his balance. It only lasted for so long before the tiger tripped himself, his whole body flipping over as his back slammed into the slope. He kept tumbling down with bits and pieces of rocks and roots banging him up as he hit a leveled slope. His rolling halted as his face smacked into the snow.

Silence between thunder claps shortened as it flashed the world around the saber open for near moments.

The pain that resonated inside was the smallest concern as his paws slipped in the mud to lift himself up. He yelped and roared at the aching. At the loss. At the wanting for her as got up and dragged himself on through the trees.

And then, so coincidentally, as he approached the bottom of the forested hill, he saw a river running rapidly. He could only hope it was the one she was talking about as he scanned around for her, but not seeing any glimpse of her contrasting white pelt.

"Come on. Where are you, Shira?" the tiger trembled with aching muscles and blood throughout as he gazed up to the skies with the rain still not backing down.

A few feet down the river, he saw a piece of land chunked off the side of the river. Claw pattern slices scraped the muddied collapse. His guess was that she got a little too close to the edge as the pouring rain only softened the incline that hovered over the running rapids. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

His only instinct at that point was to follow the river. He cut in between narrow trees. He slid under and jumped over what ever stood in his way as he traversed further down the rapids. His aching body showed no sign of lowering his progress to find her.

He kept going. As he scanned the river, he noticed a few rocks that poked out were scratched with some more claw marks. Even more intriguing, and worrisome, was a shiny spark that caught his eye on a small root branch that stuck out the side of the river's opposite side.

The tiger swore he recognized the object that shined his eyes to squint as he jumped in, shuddering from the pulsing cold waters and crawling his way to the other side.

He snagged the object off the branch, his heart feeling stabbed a thousand times as he peered at the silvering shell earring in his paw, recognizing it instantly.

For now, he had to choke on his fears and worries, now seeing it as his only indication that she was, in fact, in trouble. He pinned the earring to his own ear to hold onto. Luckily, the numbness made the pierce unnoticeable.

He got back up to land and picked up speed, tripping on the slippery terrain a bit before really kicking in to high gear. A couple hundred feet later, he almost missed the glance of silver that stuck out of the water. He had to smile, knowing that she was still alive. But the silver tigress was in trouble. She had been holding onto a rock in the forcing waters. Diego, even from the distance he was at, could see the hopelessness on her face as her eyes looked down and her ears drooped.

How long she had been holding on in that body numbing water was beyond the tiger. But he knew he wasn't going to let it extend any longer as he dove in. Some sharp rocks cut him along the way to her, but he didn't let it stop him. Through the bloodied mess he was, he still got to her.

As he latched onto her shoulder, she looked up with an expected look of shock on her face.

It was also there Diego realized that getting out of the water with her might prove to be impossible. The water had really picked up speed where she was. Because of the drastic loss of movement the tiger now had, he couldn't image he'd be able to move his legs to swim.

What was worse was that the pouring rain had been raising the water level until the rock she was latched onto had gone completely under water.

 _I can't... hold on like this._

The tiger looked around as she whimpered in his embrace. It reminded him of the only pleasantry he had, holding her as the waters stroked her fur around his paws as he felt her body's curves, reminding him of how perfect she was and that he could never let her go because of that... literally.

The feeling nearly mesmerized the tiger until he snapped back to the issue at hand.

He looked behind him and saw further down, there were a group of rocks that seemed as though they could act as a net to catch the two of them. It was at the very left side of the river, meaning he'd still have to use some force to get them over there as the rapids only seemed to further get the better of him.

"Shira..." Diego said softly in her ear, but loudly enough to speak over the rushing waters.

"Let go... trust me." Water splashed into his mouth as the current level rose above the rock she held onto, forcing her to let go.

The second she released, Diego used everything that was still functional in his limbs to carry her over to the other side. His teeth gritted at his effort. As they reached halfway, it seemed they weren't going to make it until Diego really yanked and throttled with her still latching onto his embrace. He did everything he could. More than everything because he sure as hell wasn't going to lose her.

Sooner than he expected, the jolting pain of the sharp rocks jabbed into his back. He figured he broke a bone or two, considering that even with all the numbing sensations, it still hurt like hell. His body slipped and scraped along the rough edges as he plowed his way upon the snow, dragging her along through the cold as the water dropped from his pelt and formed into ice.

The tiger released her scruff and collapsed in the snow, pain aching his whole system. He was honestly scared to see the bloodied state he was in. He could feel the cuts and rips in his skin.

As he whimpered in the cold, he turned his face in the snow to see her body without movement and her eyes shut.

 _No..._

He jolted up and pounced atop her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her a bit. His eyes bursted of sadness and anger as she gave no response.

He bent down and rested his ear to her chest, his fear settling as he heard her pulsing beats.

He spoke her name a few times, his paw resting on her forehead, having been reminded of the pleasuring softness from her touch. It also had him realize how cold she was. How blue her lips were. Her cheeks and face all glazed with frost as the droplets of rain splashed on her. It was clear to the tiger that she must have reached the point of hypothermia.

It killed him inside knowing that he had waited too long before going out to find her. To know that he had let her suffer. To know that something like this could happen to someone like her.

 _Shira. It's all my fault._

Just from the the eagerness of seeing her physically well again. Just from the wanting of her lively presence. Just from proving to her that he wanted to be so much more for her compared to anyone else, he wasted no time with dragging her through the pouring rain and back to the cave. He ignored every painful step his aching limbs caused. He shivered and trembled in fear for both of their well being. His hunger caused him weariness. And yet, somehow, through all the trials, he set aside everything to make it through.

Arriving at the cave, as he dragged her inside, the tiger brought her to the very back side, keeping her off the flooded entrance. He lowered his head and released her scruff from his jaw and placed her down on her side.

Diego nudged her to see if she'd wake up. He bent down with his ear to her chest once again, still hearing a pulse.

He sighed in relief with a smile on his face, almost laughing from all the held back emotion that went on that day.

The tiger lied down behind her, having his paw reach over her stomach and collapse onto her from the exhaustion.

 _She's okay._

He swallowed his fatigue with his throat burning from the energy he used.

 _She's okay._

His emotions got the better of him as he felt the need to cry of everything he had undergone. Even before he met her. Just anything, really. But it all had a connection with her. Like he had to wait long enough. Longer than anyone else before getting something that he could consider to be his own deserving.

And he wasted no time, no energy, no second thought before the powerful connection with their lips came together. The tiger had secretly done it many times before. And the same morning he learned that she might have been doing the same. Each time with more hesitation.

The cold on her lips seemed to melt away, his warm breath going into her own. Her whole body seemed to lighten in warmth as she was held between the tiger and the back wall of the cave. Diego made sure she was in contact with as little of the cold as possible, making it a priority to stop the deadly temperature from freezing her to death.

He could feel her breathing normalize, knowing that she was going to be fine as she slept. Knowing that he never took any of it for granted. That he treasured every moment. Especially now with everything that had happened.

Something inside him snapped as he hugged her ever tighter as the day continued on with the storm slowly seizing to an end. He took in what he almost lost. What he knew he wouldn't hesitate for. He breathed it in and exhaled the emotion.

 _She's like a kitten to me. So special. So precious._

Diego knew she was independent. That she could handle things on her own. It was just an unfortunate scenario she placed herself in.

 _It could've been me, instead... but, why was she insisting so much? Was it just so she could get even with everything I did for her?_

And yet, his mind kept tracing back to that same morning. Where she showed something more than just friendship. Where she thought the tiger would never know. It got him to consider what he'd do when she woke up. Now that he experienced almost losing her and the possibility that she has an interest in him.

 _She has to have feelings for me. She kissed me. On the lips. What else would that mean? She was saying my name in her sleep. Come on, Diego._

For now, he sighed those thoughts away before getting up and leaving the cave, but not before looking back and taking in the sight of what he almost lost.


	8. Chapter 8

Two Paws

Chapter 8

The storm had stopped and the sun had set for the night. The tiger stretched himself along the cave floor, eyeing her as she slept.

He didn't want to wake her. After everything she went through that day, he wanted to let her rest. At the same time, anticipation was collapsing inside of him as he watched her gentle breathing and her chest rising up and down as she laid on her side.

Despite the damage that his own body had received, it hurt him even more on the inside to see the clumped off fur and deep bleeding scratches that possessed her own body. Her elbows bled and her chest was bruised to the point where it showed past her pelt. Just from the fact that she was still breathing after all that had happened was miraculous on its own.

His whole body and mind froze as he saw her stretch a lengthy yawn. His lips curved a smile as her head rose and her eyes openly gazed at him.

"Sleep well?" The tiger spoke with a gleaming idolizing in his eyes.

"Diego?" Shira murmured, rolling on her stomach and stretching her limbs, having the tiger nearly purr from her seemingly perfect movement and form.

"How long was I..."

The silver tigress looked to the ground. Her lips puckered to taste the red she still had on them. Diego could tell there was a lot going on inside her head. About that cold, rainy morning.

Diego wasn't too sure where to go from there, so he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"I, uh... I went and got something while you were here."

Though he tried to remain inconspicuous with her thoughts, he couldn't avoid the looks of disappointment that poured out her face as she looked to see the dozens of fish that spread across the floor.

"The storm left a bunch of these to wind up on land after the rain cleared. So I was able to get quite a few." He smiled, waiting for her to respond, but instead only got her response of standing up and walking past him, not even gazing down at the seafood.

Did I do something wrong?

He wasn't sure what it was exactly. But he knew being silent about the events that took place at the river wasn't going to help anything.

"I wasn't going to let you die, Shira." He glared at her from behind, making her stop before leaving the cave. But she didn't turn back around. She just stood there, limbs shaking. He could see droplets of tears hit the floor in front of her, between her legs.

"Why did you come find me?" She growled.  
Diego darted his eyes elsewhere, again having an answer he didn't want to admit.

"I don't know. After like thirty minutes, I just got-"

"It wasn't because you doubted me? It wasn't because you saw me as incompetent?" Her anger shot out as she turned back around and walked closer to him.

Diego could only close his mouth and look up at her as irritation began entering him as well.

"Is that just it, Diego?"

The tiger stood up to come face to face with her.

"I just want to help. That's all." Diego insisted.

"Yeah, because it's that obvious that I need help, isn't it?" She nodded and smiled, sarcastically annoyed.

"It's obvious that you haven't eaten today, yet."

"That's not the problem." She snarled as she spun around and tried to leave, only for Diego's frustration to snap as he reached his paw and yanked her back around.

"Then what is?!" He raised his voice, grasping her tightly as she tried to pull away.

"You!" She hissed, teeth showing as her lips curled back, causing Diego to release his grip on her.

"I'm the problem?! For always being there for you?!"

"No."

"For going out to get food everyday?!"

"Diego."

"For keeping you from freezing during the night?!"

"Stop."

"For saving your fucking life?!"

He bellowed out as he felt the blow of her paw hit the side of his face with a loud smack, forcing him to shut up.

It hurt, but it didn't provoke him. What it did was calm him down as he was left looking to the ground in shock and listening to her cry.

 _I went too far._

He peered an eye at her seconds later, taking a deep breath as the red appeared on his cheek.

The look she gave back was nearly identical to his own. Shocked. As if she couldn't believe what she had just done, either.

"Diego, I... didn't mean to-  
"I deserved it." Diego interrupted, feeling his cheek with his paw and keeping his eyes to the floor, but eventually had to look up as she said nothing back.

She was looking him over, clearly intrigued by how bloodied and beat up his whole body was. By how much mud had smeared into his pelt. By how much physical pain he endured because of her.

"I've just been... frustrated." She finally spoke. The tiger just stood there and listened. That's all he ever made sure he would do. He wouldn't say anything. He'd just listen.

 _Because that's exactly what no one else did._

"I hate seeing what you have to go through just to get food for the two of us."

"So... what, you just wanted to return the favor? To get even with me?"

She collapsed herself against the wall and took a deep breath, gazing up to the ceiling.

"I guess that's it." She mumbled.

"Well, you don't have to do that." Diego began as he lied down next to her.

"And not because I see you as incompetent, but because... I..."

The tiger nearly had his tongue slip out words he didn't want her to hear. As a result, he looked away in silence.

"I'm just sick of it being like this, though." Shira shrugged her shoulders and stretched, "It's always been like this. I just didn't want you to think I was worthless."

 _You're quite the opposite, to be honest._

The tiger still couldn't get himself to speak the thoughts in his mind. He only wished there was some way he could find out if that kiss meant what he thought it did. It seemed silly for it to mean anything else, but that's exactly what scared him.

Even after nearly losing her, as it happened, he swore he would let her know. Once he rescued her, he'd just connect his lips and show her. Because he didn't know if he'd be given another chance.

 _So why am I not doing that right now?_

But now that eagerness seemed to die down as he took what he had for granted, playing the assumption that something wasn't going to happen again.

So suddenly, her eyes trailed off his own. She peered to the side, almost right next to where he was.

"Something wrong?" He asked, turning his head a bit as she continued to look, bringing her paw to her ear and feeling along the lobe. Just as instantly, he knew what she was looking at.

"Are... those my earrings?" She smirked as her head tilted.

"Who wants to know?" The tiger smarted back as he twiddled with the earrings on his left lobe while Shira only gazed in amusement.

 _God, her face is too much._ His thoughts distracted him from getting the earring off.

"You can wear them if you want. They don't look too bad an you." She smirked and giggled.

The tiger had to deeply breath and halt his rushing thoughts so that his cheeks wouldn't blush red.

"A male saber wearing earrings... yeah, right." He had to argue, gritting his teeth as he pulled the earring off, happy that there wasn't any blood pouring out of his ear.

"Besides, I'm sure they look a million times better on you."

And for a reason he'll likely never understand, he let that sentence slip. The context behind it seemed painfully obvious. Just telling her how perfect she was. Unlike the tiger, Shira couldn't stop the red from showing through her cheeks.

Before the tiger would let the silence fill with awkward tension, he held out the earring, biting his lips and looking away as she took the shell pieces from his paw.

"So how did you get these?" She asked as she started attaching the shells to her ear.

"The river. You must have had a tree branch yank it off as you were in there."

"I'm still embarrassed over that, you know?"

"Don't be."

"And I must seem pretty ungrateful for not thanking you for... saving me." She said, speaking that last part quietly.

"You don't have to."

She gazed at his emeralds with her paws held up to her ear.

"You'll never have to." Diego added.

Shira just smirked before loosening her grip on the earrings, accidentally dropping them as they clanked to the floor.

"Here." Diego reached for them as she allowed him to hold the side of her face as he connected the earring to her ear.

"I can't seem to do anything on my own, huh?" She sighed as his paw left the softness of her face.

"I disagree." Diego responded.

That's only because she's perfect.

Their bodies seemed to draw closer as he spoke. The night had sprung past their notice and the winter made entrance inside the cave. He noticed the dreary looks in her eyes as she began dozing off in his warmth. And he truly treasured it more than ever knowing that he could've lost her that day.

"Diego... this is kinda random, but..." she started as she snuggled further into him. Diego's ears perked up and his throat fought not to purr, "your voice is really soothing."

He froze in unexpectedness, tense from the shoulders down. It seemed odd because he personally didn't like his own voice. It felt too soft toned and it made it hard to actually talk over anything. As a result, he's heard the phrase 'speak up' way too many times. And now he realized that she's never asked that once. Maybe, unlike everyone else, she actually listened.

"Oh... uh... I mean... yours, too?"

She giggled at his half functional response. Things seemed to be changing that day. What the two sabers were saying to each other. Compared to other nights, it felt different to the tiger.

"I'm sure you get told that a lot, right?" She tilted her head as her soft face leaned into his chest, absorbing his warmth as the freezing winds blew just through the cave entrance.

"I get told a lot of things, Shira."

"I'm sure."

The tiger felt around as much of her body as his arm length allowed without drawing attention to her. So much blood stained and crusted through out. All the while, she had been filling her hunger with the seafood that the tiger brought back. And it was so rewarding. So exhilarating to see the silver tigress chow down on the food he brought back as he held her. She must have ripped through five of them in the time span of a minute. Just by how much she got into eating what he gave her, that was the favor she always returned. To Diego, It was never about trading off hunting jobs. It was always about her and nothing else.

So suddenly, Diego felt his stomach growl as his hunger began to inflame like hers. He got up and looked around for one, only to be blind to the darkness that covered the cave.

He growled in annoyance as he patterned the floor trying to find one of the dozens of fish laying around. His head bonked on the low hanging end, whimpering his frustration away.

Once he finally did find one, he lied down with his paws over the scale textured stomach. He could feel it was a rather large one. Maybe a foot in length. He held it down with one paw and began gnawing at it, ripping off chunks by pieces. Seafood wasn't something he was crazy for, but the hunger he had been experiencing all day made that obsolete.

His instincts had him get completely emerged in the taste and smell of the food, his paw gripping tighter down as he worked faster through the meat, being careful not to cut his gums up on the bones. Nothing else seemed important around him. For the first time since he met her, he wasn't actually thinking about her. Just the food. Just the taste. Just the feeling of his stomach filling up.

Because of the tasty distraction, Diego didn't even realize when the half eaten carcass started to pull away. Instinctively, he just leaned forward and held on to it, still biting into the flesh as the fish lifted off the ground.

The tiger growled in annoyance, but never considered what might have been going on. Even if he did, the cave's sightless black wouldn't have allowed him to see anything anyway.

He had to get up, as he kept pulling on the fish as it kept yanking back. One bite after another, the fish kept reducing in size until he felt something else touch his lips  
And he was left frozen there, barely able to swallow the last of the seafood before slowly pulling back, only then realizing that she had been trying to eat the same fish. The two tigers fought for it, reducing the length until their lips inevitably connected.

It was a total accident, all though in a way, he wished he could see her reaction. But instead, all he could hear was her breath. He could hear the surprise in it.  
This tiger always hoped that he'd eventually slip up and just go for it. Or, even better, she'd be the one to do it.

 _But... like this? Would it have happened any other way?_

The heat of embarrassment and thoughts dwelling around his own instinctive lust proved to be a little too much for the tiger. In his heart, he knew it couldn't have happened any other way, all things considered. He kept yelling at himself to take the risk for the past couple days. And he could've done it so easily on multiple occasions.

 _What do I say? What do I do?_ He felt the nervous tension. It was even less helpful since he couldn't physically see the expression on her face, so he had practically nothing to go off of.

All he could do was clear his throat, or pretend to rather, maybe getting her to speak instead. That of which didn't happen.

 _Okay, long enough. Say something._

"Shira, it's fine. It wasn't your...

"It's always my fault Diego. Don't bullshit me." Unexpected anger shot out of her.

"Okay..." He only neutralized his response, not wanting to start up an argument again.

"Why are you still here, anyway?" She shot back. The words practically stabbed at him as he was left with drooping ears. He said nothing back.

"Do you pity me, or what?!"

"You've got it all wrong, Shira."

"Yeah, because my frustration just makes me seem like a total bitch, right?"

The tiger couldn't believe what she was saying. He never would've guessed she was thinking that way about herself. It tore him up internally.

"I promise you, that's never crossed my mind once." Diego insisted,

"Then what does cross your mind about me?" Her anger lowered.

"Well... where you belong. Your family."

He heard her sigh.

"I don't have a family."

 _Oh..._

"I never knew them. I don't know what happened to them. I don't remember that far back. I've had to live on my own my whole life."

Diego didn't respond. He just locked his eyes into hers, realizing that before, she wouldn't tell him anything about her. Now she just spilled it without him even pushing her to do so.

"Just one more reason to feel sorry for me. Just like everyone else." She whimpered as she sat down.

Diego stumbled his way to her, stepping on a bone carcass and yelping as he did.

 _Smooth..._

He sat down next to her, noticing his eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness as he had a better sight of her. It just clicked in him that, for touching lips on accident, there wasn't much thought or mention of it. Almost like they were already a couple.

"You know, I envy you in a way." Diego spoke.

She said nothing back.

"You got the freedom I never did. You got to adapt to things at your own pace. You gave your own reasons to survive and grow everyday. That's why you always seem so independent to me."

Shira only looked to the ground, biting her lips before staring up at him as he held her.  
"And having a family is worse than that?" She smirked at the very idea. But just as quickly, Diego began whimpering. The thoughts of his family ran through his mind.

For a second time over that night, the two sabers scooted closer together. When they touched, it was like a fire was lit and warmed them right there inside the cave.

 _The way she views herself... how does she view me, then? What do I look like in her eyes?_

Feelings kept strengthening his grasp around her. Feelings he got from thinking of his family.

"I feel like... I've been bending over backwards for every reason... but the right one." His emotion spilled out as he breathed intensely. Never had he collapsed on her like this.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to stop living like anyone else's opinion. I want to stop being who I've been my whole damn life." His eyes leaked onto her. Just then, the tiger felt her paw reach to his face. Her touch nearly halting his shuddering. He swallowed his sadness before continuing.

"Especially from those who seem to have misplaced their own"

He held his paw to his head, scrunching away at the thoughts that were nearly killing him.

"Diego... you're probably the most genuine, down to earth saber I've ever met."

The tiger's breath halted, though the tears remained as he gripped his head, taking in what she just said, contemplating on whether she truly meant that or not.

"And... I'm sorry a slapped you, earlier. You didn't deserve it."

"I could probably use another one with the way I've been acting." He managed to humor as he wiped his eyes. Her responding laughter really got to him. Too beautiful. Too perfect.

"So, you have emotions." She yawned as she snuggled into him, "I like that."

Diego took in every feeling of her body's touch against his. His lips so close to her neck, he almost allowed his tongue to slip out and run underneath the grain of her fur. But his uncontrollable urges were canceled as she adjusted herself more comfortably.

 _From what she's told me, she doesn't have anyone. Maybe she never did... I don't know. Now it's too obvious what's bound to happen._

Because of how convenient everything seemed to be, both of them having been alone for years, it didn't take a brain to see where everything was leading up to.

 _I don't want to wait any longer. But all that has been on my mind is, how much longer?_

As if his thoughts triggered a response from her, he felt the bonding grasp decimate as she playfully pushed herself away and stood up.

"Diego, um... it might be a bit late, but I... kinda want to show you something."

She stumbled the words shyly as her head looked to the ground.

Concerning thoughts went through Diego. About her own safety. How he had just gotten her out of a deadly situation earlier that day. And now she wants to go outside to god knows where for a second time. It seemed a bit reckless to him.

But he was going with her this time. There was nothing to worry about this time around. And the curiosity that flooded his head seemed to control him regardless.

"Where we going?" He merely smiled as he got up and stretched before following her outside the cave into the clear and cold night.

"You'll see." She smirked, but stopped and turned her head to him.

"You trust me, right?" She asked, teeth showing and eyes twinkling of the moonlight.

"Without question."


	9. Chapter 9

Two Paws

Chapter 9

Very few rational thoughts went through his head as he followed her uphill. It must have been close to midnight as the two stormed up the snowy fields, the moon being in full gleam and sparkling the whited hills. Snowflakes lightly fell atop them. It all seems like a total fantasy.

The temperature was oddly appealing on that calm winter's night, the saber's pelts practically built to handle the average snow day.

The tiger followed on, paws crunching into snow as he kept his gaze at her backside as she led him further.

"A little farther, Diego." She said as she halted, taking a breather as she looked around, the condensation giving visibility to her breath.

Diego groaned as he caught up, exhausted from all that went on that day. He almost wished that she'd wait until the next morning to show him. It really couldn't have been that important.

 _Or is it?_

But his eagerness, his anticipation for what it could be, these drove the remaining energy he still had.

Shira eyed around the top of the hill that stretched outside the forest before turning back to him, the wind picking up and brushing through their pelts and clanking the earrings she wore.

Gazing over her, Diego couldn't believe she could still stand on all fours. Her injuries kept him wanting to protect her from everything. Like he could never let his precious kitten go ever again. Already, just thinking it, he was clearing his subconscious of all rationality.

"You're okay, right?" His heart let out in worry.

"I'm fine." She sighed as she looked to the ground with her ears lowered. Diego gazed at her until she looked up at him, by which he looked elsewhere.

 _I need to stop being so damn shy._

The temperature seemed to drop as the two of them stood there, heat not generating as their bodies were still.

"You're so much stronger than me." Diego quickly poured out, never believing something so strongly in his life.

"What ever do you mean?" She smirked in amusement. Eyes glimmering onto him.

"All those injuries... seem like nothing to you."

Shira looked to her legs and paws at the mentioning of it. Red still showed in puddles around her pelt. But she still shook her head in disagreement.

"You should've seen yourself when you brought back that bison." She reminded.

"And I could barely walk." Diego added.

She merely shrugged in response as the winds picked up, Diego attentive to the fur on her face being brushed against the weather. It turned his focus to the details. All the forms and curves that formed what was practical perfection to the tiger. As a result, reality dimmed out for a second.

He imagined her lips to his. Imagining the wet feeling of her tongue. His paws would be behind her neck, pulling her in and tightening the lock on their mouths. And she'd be doing the same, wanting as much out of him as he wanted out of her. Grasping her embrace so tightly.

 _Easy, tiger._

His lustful thoughts departed as he was left remembering what it was they were talking about.

"Maybe getting roughed up by rushing waters isn't as bad as getting tenderized by bison." Shira guessed.

"Maybe. Or..." Diego began, biting his lips and darting his eyes around, trying to think.

"Or what?"

"It's like something else is giving you the energy."

At this, silence broke out. Diego knew what he meant it to mean, but was she catching on as easily? Better yet, did he want her to?

"Hmm." Shira thought on his theory.

"You think?"

"Maybe." She smirked.

At the same time, Diego recalled what it was like to be struck by those bison at least a dozen times. And now, as he stood there that night with her accompanying him, he realized he would've otherwise just laid there and let them finish him off. If there really was nothing else.

 _If it wasn't for her._

"Well, whatever it is, I'm..."

He halted the sentence, not comfortable with expressing his care that he so deeply had for her.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

Shira looked up as Diego only gazed back. No smile on his face for how relieved he had been. Just an honest, caring look in his eyes.

The response she gave back was something similar to where there was none. Her eyes only looked to the ground, thinking. Contemplating.

The snow had been falling down, piling atop their backs and heads. Pieces of snow that seemed like dust tipped across her pinkish nose. So easily, the thought of leaning forward and licking her face clean of snow entered his mind.

 _Just to see her reaction._

His mind drowned in fantasy more so as he noticed the eagerness that existed in her gleam and smile. But he was brought back to earth as she turned and signaled her head, wanting him to follow.

*What could she want to show me?

It wasn't long before they had reached the shorelines of the lake they had gone by a few days ago. Only this time, the water wasn't frozen. The waves calmly lapped over the small shorelines below the overhanging land.

Shira hopped down onto the sand and picked up something. Diego had a hard time seeing what it was with her back turned, so he jumped down as well and walked up beside her.

In her paw was a sea shell. One that looked very familiar to the tiger.

"Are those the same-"

"I was just thinking..." she started, a bit bashful toned, turning with her paw held up, the earring just inches away from his face.

"If you're suggesting that'd look good on me..."

"Well yeah, I mean, you're ear IS pierced and all-"

"Look, I really, umm... I don't think-"

"It'd look a thousand times better on you than me."

Both sabers paused, eyes gazing. Bodies motionless. Her paw seemed to tremble the earring she still held out.

 _I see what you did there._

"Because... you're such a good friend. You've done so many nice things for me."

"I got food for you twice..." he humored.

"And that's more than anyone's ever done!" She laughed. Yet just as quickly her eyes showed deep thought. Like what she just said was the truth.

"And because of that..." she started, talking more quietly, "I wanted to do something nice for you."

Slowly, she reached for his ear and hooked the oddly shaped shell to his ear, his teeth gritting a bit.

"Sorry."

The tiger just stared back at her before looking to the water beside him. The reflection showed the two sabers, their earrings both sparkling contrast into the reflecting light on the water's surface.

 _Is there anything else she's trying to tell me? Does this mean something more? God, I want it to._

His heart raced as she scooted closer to him. As often as this happened, he still had a hard time keeping himself relaxed.

"Ever worry about the future, Diego?"

"The future?" The tiger's head turned.

"What'll happen? Where you'll be?"

 _Hopefully with you._

The tiger choked on the thoughts he so badly wanted to spill out of his mouth.

"Why? Do you worry about it?"

"Oh all the time." She sighed as her head looked to the night sky. Yet, the tiger kept his gaze towards her, willing to listen to her. Always willing to.

"I'm always thinking there's something better than just sitting in a cave all day. Where every day is kinda the same thing."

"I think it's okay for some days to be the same. As long as you're happy."

As the tiger said this, because of the way he said it, he bit his tongue. He feared that she'd think he was implying this life change, being with her, was making him happy. And that would obviously lead to something more.

"Are you... happy?"

His stiffness increased as she leaned closer, seemingly curious to how he felt about... everything.

"I think so." He started, rubbing his nose and scratching his ear, feeling the awkward tension arising.

"Have you always been happy?"

Diego didn't speak. He knew what she was thinking. About his past... or lack of one. No one to be with. No one to talk to.

"Living by yourself. You never... got lonely?" Her head tilted as her paw overlapped his own.

"I'm... I don't..."

As he stumbled his attempt to flow words from his mouth, her shoulder leaned against his.

 _She's so inviting._

And the way he saw it, that's exactly the type of saber he needed. She wasn't exactly all energetic and happy go lucky, god forbid. But there was a certain shyness to her. Not to his own extent, but still enough to relate to. All her traits just seemed to click with him.

"I never really thought about it. Being lonely or whatever." He lied.

"Oh."

He practically felt pins stab him as she said that. He kept beating himself up for not keeping a conversation going. It was like he was afraid she'd lose interest in him if he wasn't... interesting enough?

 _So why am I sitting by her right now?_

The fact that she hadn't grown tired of his presence, as far as he could tell, really made the tiger think.

"Back then, at least."

"Huh?"

"I didn't know how alone I was. I mean... mentally."

"Aww, you poor thing."

His shock raised as she rubbed her head up his neck. Even more was that the tiger swore he felt the vibration of her throat purring.

 _Did she really just..._

It felt like a hot summer day on that cold winter night. Something was going on. And what it was exactly the tiger wasn't sure. There was just too much going on at once for him to think straight.

 _I need you so badly, Shira. That's all I know._

The comforting strokes she gave to his shoulder became more frequent by the second. As such, the tiger had no option but to look at her paw that surfaced across each curve of his pelt. And that only brought his view closer to the seemingly magnetic entity that was her face.

Her paw let go as his eyes went parallel with hers. And it was there that, for the first time, considering how many times he's gazed at her in admiration, he saw something new. Her pupils were ever slightly bigger. Her mouth just barely hung open and her tongue was hardly showing.

He felt the warmth of her breath as it seeped past her daggers. He choked on the intensity of his mentality. The heat raised inside him.

It was hypnotically happening to his unawareness. He didn't move a muscle. He just let her lean closer ever so slowly. His whole world was right there. The doors were going to open. And then everything was going to make sense finally.

Her lips couldn't have possibly been any closer. As such, she stopped, the slightest smile covering her mouth. She was waiting. She wanted reassurance. That this was okay.

In response, hardly realizing it, his mouth opened just slightly enough to be an answer, letting her know that it was okay.

Her lips pulled up a grin as she purred, ready to connect. Ready to know what it meant to love. What it meant to care.

That was certainly what Diego wanted, but the lake they sat by thought otherwise as the current made a splashing wave that went directly over the two of them, like it was protesting.

The fantasy was broken off as the two stumbled to the wet and sandy ground, growling in annoyance.

Diego crawled over to her who was too busy coughing up the water that must have sprayed into her mouth.

"You okay, Shira?" He asked as he lent his paw for her to pull herself up. But instead, she swiped it away as she got up on her own, still coughing.

"I'm fine. Just fine." She grumbled, clearly annoyed.

 _Okay..._

He wasn't sure where to go from that point. And he could tell that neither did she. Both sabers just stood there, looking elsewhere as their soaking pelts dripped. The mildly cold weather didn't make the moment any less uncomfortable either.

"Listen, why don't we just head back to-"

Before he could finish, she turned away and jumped up the small incline before walking off.

The tiger called her name before sighing of frustration as he climbed up after her, paws trampling the packed snow as he caught up to her. He promised himself that he would never let her go again. After what happened last time.

"Shira... what's-

"Don't. Just... don't." She held her paw up, keeping space between her and the tiger.

His ears drooped as she walked on.

Truthfully, he was surprised she allowed him to follow her back to the cave. As he trailed behind her, he felt the urges that his instincts drove out of him. Just eyeing her from behind and focusing on her movement, he was ready to pounce on her and let everything else take it's course.

"Do you really think I'm frustrated?" He slipped out, knowing that struck a cord in her as she stopped herself and her ears perked.

"Frustrated?" She turned her head around.

"You're annoyed because you think I'm frustrated." He elaborated.

Her whole body turned around and seemed to ease down and relax, but still curiously stared at him.

"What do you think I'm irritated from?" The tiger tilted his head.

"Me." She said instantly.

"You?" He faked his shock as he closed the space between them.

 _Just talk to her. Assure her that everything's fine. It's working._

"I've been frustrated at just about every damn thing in this world..."

His humorous remark got her to smile, even though it was the truth.

"But not you."

Her smile vanished as she was left to think. To contemplate as she could do nothing but look at him. It might have been right there that everything clicked. Every piece came together. Both knew what the other felt.

"Why not?" She asked as they arrived at her den, stopping to turn around at the entrance, preventing him from stepping inside. The tiger noticed the area was still wet from the storm. Puddles of water surrounded.

"There's many reasons, I guess." He started, struggling to keep his focus at her gaze.

"One reason is..." he stopped and swallowed the nerves.

"What?" She tilted her head, smirking as slightly as her muscles allowed.

"Right below you."

At this, she looked confused as she looked to the puddle below her. But it wasn't just the puddle. It was the silver fur. The contrasting eyes. The pink nose. The patterned forehead. Her whole image reflected.

"How could I possibly get frustrated at you?"

"I don't know." Her mouth mumbled as she kept her head down, still staring at the puddle, trembling like a kitten.

 _She can be so feisty and she can be so shy, too. God, I love her._

For what ever the reason might have been, he felt the confidence flow through. He already had her. And he could feel the words ready to spill from his mouth. The ones that would end this war in his head for ever. At last.

"You're so fucking beautiful, Shira."


	10. Chapter 10

Two Paws

Chapter 10

Diego's ears drooped as his head looked at the ground. He could hear the pattering of her feet. He could feel the irritation. The shock. The discomfort. The total regret.

 _Please, Shira. You have no idea..._

Anger shot out of her eyes. The tiger stiffened to the sight. Thoughts halted inside him.

"You didn't just say that." She glared.

"Ok."

She scoffed at his lack of response.

"I can't do this." She shook her head of frustration as she started walking past him. And for whatever reason, because of that, something snapped in him as he grabbed her and pulled her in front of him.

"Just give me a chance, Shira. I'll show you."

"You'll show me what?" She growled back, tugging away.

"Everything." He whimpered, staring through her eyes. He wanted her to see the hurt in his own. He wanted her to feel the change that was coming down. He wanted to know what he was hiding in his shadow.

"You're so much more than you think you are. Please understand that." He softly spoke, still gripping her limb.

Her eyes looked to the ground, her head shook in loss as she took a deep breath.

"I just don't see it."

He stepped closer.

"It's not about seeing it." He started, not caring if she'd snap on him as his lips drew closer. Even though she backed up a little with her lips curling her teeth out, he didn't care.

"It's about understanding it."

His paw reached to her shoulder, having her sit as he did the same. He felt the tension in her body fade as they sat just outside the cave entrance.

"You know... I was awake that one morning." He smirked, waiting for her to pick up what he was putting down.

Instantly he could tell she knew what he was talking about. The morning she "secretly" kissed him. As such, her cheeks started to turn red.

"You really think... I'm... beautiful?" The sentence had her blush more intensely than the tiger had ever seen from her. It was there that Diego knew.

 _I have her._

Diego just shyly nodded, feeling a blush come up himself. He struggled to swallow his fear. He felt he was about to cry out all the emotion he wasn't sure what to do with.

History repeated as her lips came closer to his. The tiger could see the observing in her eyes, making sure he'd do the same.

And as she collapsed onto him, he did.

It was all so crazy to him. It was all so new. So unfamiliar. And he loved it. He loved the feeling of her body stroking up and down his own as she kept leaning forward on top of him, reaching her lips to meet his. Her breath gave him warmth. Her limbs latched around him as they rolled into the snow just outside the cave.

 _We don't need to love only when it's convenient to us. We don't need to understand only when it's agreeable._

Both sabers collapsed of emotion that was overwhelmingly building up since day one. They both grasped on, feeling the embrace. Feeling the connection. Feeling the strength.

Her playful kisses along his neck relaxed him. Tired him, even. He could lay there forever and let her do what ever she wanted.

"I had you since day one, didn't I?" She grinned, her pearl white teeth bulging out between her lips and her eyes squinting the contrast away. Diego smiled at the sudden change in her attitude, realizing how powerful these actions could be.

Before he could answer, she dove back to his lips, the heart beats inside him going nuts to what she was doing inside his mouth.

 _God damn, she's so good at this. Why the hell did this have to take so long?_

Though she was seemingly flawless with the way she showed her feelings towards him, the tiger felt the opposite form of confidence. It paranoid him to think that he wasn't letting the passion take over what he really felt inside for her. And it wasn't like he did this regularly. It was his first time. He had no idea how to kiss. How to move his mouth. His tongue.

"You must've had someone before this, huh?"

"Nope."

 _Really?_

The trust she had for him was immeasurable as she allowed him to lay on top of her as she held her face up to stay connected with him.

He gasped in shock as her paws reached around his waste, traveling further down.

 _I guess I'll do the same?_

The beating in his heart kept the same fire going as his paws started at her shoulders and gently stroked down her stomach.

Mouths kept feeling tongues and paws kept feeling bodies. Both sabers loved in rhythm. In connection with each other.

The two were so attached to one another, that instead of getting up and walking the two feet to the cave, they just kicked and squirmed their way up the incline to the cave, snow getting caught in their pelts as they collapsed past the cave entrance. Their paws and limbs still latched around each other.

As he laid there in the darkness, he found it difficult to see her. To observe her. To adore her. But it mattered very little to the tiger as he tightened his embrace around her body, stroking every curve that his paws came across. He purred at the sound of her lustful breathing as he dug his mouth past the fur on her neck, putting all the passion he had into every kiss he gave her.

 _I want to show her everything I've been holding back my entire life. All the frustration from the past. All the hate. All the anger. I need to release it in this way._

And he held nothing back. He tightened his grasp to the point where he was worried he might be hurting her. But the worry vanished as she held her paws up and hugged him just as tightly.

"I've wanted something like this... for such a long time." She gasped out as his lips met her own. The tiger could feel her teeth grinning and her upper lip twitching back in an instinctive manor.

"I never thought... I'd ever get something like this." He gasped out with the same amount of lust as her.

"What was it like... before this?" She asked so suddenly, eyes peering into him, a small reminder to one of many reasons why he fell for her so easily. As such, he felt the honesty take its course.

"Hatred... I just... I hated everyone and everything. I didn't want to be around anyone."

"I'm sorry. You certainly didn't deserve any of it."

The tiger took a deep breath, holding back sad thoughts. They seemed even sadder now that she spoke that.

"I'm not sure. I always wanted to be left alone. I just... didn't get along with anyone. They all saw things differently. Different opinions and everything."

"Anything in particular?"

"Just a bunch of little things, really. It all added up over time. It all got to me."

"I can understand that."

It was odd to the tiger that she said that, considering that she claimed to have not been around other sabers growing up. Always alone and all.

 _And yet, she can still understand. Unlike everyone else._

There was also something about the darkness. Not being able to see her. He became more open with his thoughts than ever before. So much he was letting go of. Things that no one else allowed him to.

The tiger swore he could almost feel physical pressure ease from his mind.

"I love how open you are." She whispered, licking his neck, causing inevitable purring.

 _Only around you._

"Makes you seem kinda soft, don't you think?" She added.

"Soft? A saber tooth tiger?" He questioned, smirking her way.

"Why not?" She giggled, cuddling into his chest.

"Kinda humiliating, I guess."

"If you're a softie, it probably is."

"You take that back."

"Make me."

The smirk she made with that response, that seemed to be the threshold sentence to what made him roll on top her as he adored the sound of her laughter. The sabers tossed and turned, bumping walls and dusting the ground as they play wrestled, paws gripping shoulders.

As much as he wanted to just have fun with her for the moment, it was kind of hard to when she was constantly pressing down on his mouth as she lied on top of him. Her stomach stroked against his own. Diego could feel the rhythmic breathing and heart beats coming from her.

She didn't seem to be stopping. It went to such and extent that the tiger just lied there, limbs loose as he let her do whatever she practically wanted to.

 _She's not stopping. Shira... all this time? All these... three days?_

His lips stretched a smile as she lifted her mouth up, a strand of saliva still connected to their mouths.

"Sorry." She quietly spoke, trying her best to wipe off the loving strand with her paw. Diego grinned in amusement to the blush on her face.

"Do you have any idea how cute you are, Shira?"

"Can you stop?" She laughed out the overwhelming emotion as she collapsed her strength onto him, her head to the side of his. Breathing. Contemplating.

"I can't. I'm too soft." The tiger smarted back.

Her eyes seemed to gleam at him in awe. It was only moments later that she started to shiver.

"Getting cold?" He asked, doing everything he could to keep her warm.

"A little." She shuddered, burrowing herself in his warmth while the tiger had to fight himself from loosing it over the feeling of her curvaceous body.

"Thanks for keeping me warm, Diego." She said with a lengthy lick up his neck. Her warm breath almost too much for the tiger.

"Thanks for giving me a chance." He said back, finding it all too easy to spill out whatever he was thinking to her. Now that it all happened. Now that he finally knows how she feels about him.

 _And it still feels like a dream._

"Of course. After all... you're pretty hot." She said so casually, like it wasn't anything.

"I'm sorry?" He smirked, ears perking to the surprise of her words.

"You heard me." She giggled, nudging him on the shoulder as he held her in his warmth.

 _She really does... I mean... she always did?_

The heat really got to him the more he thought about it. He was certain that she was too out of his league. But now, he's come to find that maybe... there's no such thing as that.

 _All the self doubt I had. All I needed was someone to lift me through it._

As he thought it, his eyes leaked. His embrace loosened.

"What about me is... beautiful?" She asked so suddenly, a grinning look of curiosity blanketing her face.

"Uh... well... you know... um...

"Yeah?" She eyed wider with teeth showing through her smile.

"You're not making this easy for me, Shira."

"I know, you big softie." She laughed, nudging him a bit harder on the shoulder.

"By the way, I _am_ going to repay you for all the food, you know?"

"What we were doing just a minute ago wasn't repaying?

"It could be... if you want it to."

The sabers gazed at one another. The late hour fatigued them both.

"We'll go hunting tomorrow, Shira. Together. How's that?"

"I'd like that." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek before snuggling herself back into his warmth.

"Welp... I'm finally getting tired." She yawned, lapping her tongue.

"All right then." He answered, eager to feel what it's like to fall asleep with her, knowing they were truly together.

Goodnight, Softie."

"Goodnight..." the tiger thought for a moment, trying to come up with something to call her by.

"Kitty."

She looked up, eying him with a playful death stare before drifting off to sleep.

 _Yeah, I don't think I'm ever letting her go._


	11. Chapter 11

Two Paws

Chapter 11

Diego woke up that next morning to the surprise of her glamorous eyes and her precious smile. They had fallen asleep the previous night with their limbs wrapped around each other's bodies and their chests meeting in the warmth of their embrace.

It surprised him that she was up before him for the first time. She gave him a playful lick along his neck before getting up to stretch.

He wanted to tell her right there how much he loved her. How much she meant to her. But there was still a feeling of uncertainty. A feeling of paranoia. Like he'd make a mistake by saying it. He could only trace it back to his cub days where everything was rules and regulation that he never understood.

 _Everything felt so forcefully formal. I never liked it. I never agreed with it. I need to stop that way of thinking... eventually._

The sun just started rising, the bright orange color casting into the sky as they went out for a morning hunt just like Diego had promised the night before. He also coincidentally found himself making a second promise. To himself.

 _I won't let anything bad happen to her. I'll do everything I can. She's just so-_

His eyes peered to his side as they walked through the wintered forest. Sounds of clattering icicles rang like bells. The packed snow glittered from the seeping sunlight. The day was clear and warm. More so than it had been.

 _I can't even put into words. As I look at her. All the surroundings. I-_

His lustful thoughts halted as her eyes gazed back at him. Her own smile got him to smile back.

 _I haven't smiled in years. I haven't had a reason to. At least... not a real smile. Like the one I'd use back then to practice not to feel like a failure._

It hurt him inside thinking about it. Something that he felt shouldn't be bothering him as much as it was.

As they walked, Shira caught the sorrowing look he tried to hide as his head turned away.

"Diego?"

"Hmm?"

"Something wrong?"

When she said that, the two slowly came to a stop. He wanted to say that he wasn't sure. He had no idea. But... the truth was, he had completely forgotten about all the little aspects about himself that made him feel like a failure.

 _Like how to hunt._

And because of that, he felt stupid for not realizing before that she'd find out how little he actually knew about hunting. That she'd find out how big of a phony he was bringing back that bison.

"Everything's fine." He smiled.

She just bit her lip and nodded. Diego noticed that she wasn't convinced.

The further they walked and as time went on, the more frustrated the tiger got.

 _Other sabers... they'd just take off into the forest. They'd spend no longer than an hour hunting... and they always brought something back._

He recalled how bad he was at processing instructions during hunting lessons. The way his pack was taught. He never got the hang of it. He was the only saber that got left empty pawed.

But this wasn't just some dumb hunting lesson. It was something much more important. And it registered as a reminder as her stomach constantly growled.

 _I'll take care of you, Shira. You know I will._

She had been walking ahead of him as he thought. But his thoughts were constantly halted at the sight of her backside. He found it difficult to focus on anything else when he questioned whether she was deliberately putting more movement into her back legs and hips or not.

Before his instincts could take over, he caught up to her, eyeing and smiling as she returned the same gesture.

"Having fun back there?" She smirked, sunlight casting a twinkling effect in her eyes.

Just as instantly, his eyes darted, struggling to keep his concentration where it should be.

"Yes... I mean- no... I mean-

His nervous rambling was cut short to the surprise gesture of her mouth lapping over his, forcing him to stop walking. Instantly, all other worries vanished.

It felt odd. Even as they were walking out of the cave that morning, Diego still had a hard time processing the fact that they were together. That they were something more than friends. The very idea seemed so far fetched that he often found himself forgetting, even though it's only been one day. It really got him to think. Maybe in both of their minds, they were a couple the moment they saw each other for the first time.

 _Seems so unreal..._

He let her continue showing affection with her paw up to his face as she kissed onward. The purring came inevitably and the blushes couldn't be held back. They only kept at it for so long until the growling stomachs brought up the reminder.

 _Okay, enough stalling. Find an animal, take it down. Simple. So stop thinking about her for a minute and focus._

Tried as he did, his instincts got the best of him.

 _You're still thinking about her, aren't you?_

He could tell she knew something was wrong from the look of doubt on his face.

 _Well, are you here to hunt or are you here to stare at her all day?_

To his own admittance, it was tempting.

 _I'm here to hunt. End of discussion._

"Listen, Shira... I think I should probably tell you... I'm not really-

Before he could finish what he'd been holding back all morning, Shira eyed her gaze just behind him for a split second before ducking to the ground, pulling the tiger down with her.

Before Diego had a chance to respond, she covered his mouth with her paw.

"Look... just ahead over there." She whispered, stretching and pointing her other paw ahead of them.

Diego looked at her for a second before letting his eyes follow where she was pointing. At first he didn't see anything, but the more he looked the more impressed he was at the fact that she was able to spot the head that perfectly blended in next to the trees. Even the tusks seemed to camouflage easily.

Already, just thinking about it, Diego's mouth watered. He was starving and could sure as hell imagine that she was, too.

"I never would've seen that, Shira."

Even though he was dead serious, Diego figured that would mean a lot to her coming from him. At least from how good of a hunter she thought he was. And she only smiled, seeming a bit embarrassed.

The tiger had never been more careful and precise in his movement as he slowly prowled his way inches forward. He heard her paws mimic the same as they crouched lower. Bodies twisted and turned as they crawled their way closer to the prey.

The two were just to the left from behind, Diego honestly surprised that he was able to get this close without getting caught.

The tiger turned back to her who only nodded in readiness.

As he was about to take the first attack, Diego felt his nose itch. It was only seconds later where he felt he was going to sneeze.

 _Aw come on. Not now, For fu-_

His eyes rolled up and he inhaled, his breath stuttering as he did everything he could to fight it.

Shira noticed and widened her eyes, looking back and forth between Diego and the wild boar before holding her paw over his mouth, not sure what else she could do.

The amount of relief that flowed through him as the inhale died down was nothing short of satisfactory. He grinned and shook his head, feeling stupid but also knowing that she wouldn't have blamed him either way.

She showed the same amount of relief. But her exhale was just loud enough for the boar to hear as it spotted them, squealed and took off instantly.

 _Great._

It crushed him a bit knowing that was his only chance to hide the lie he's been feeding her. However, the tiger had minimal time to think about it as Shira, seconds later, sprang out after it.

Diego had no option but to do the same, plowing away through the snow covered forest.

Tried as he did, the tiger found it difficult to keep up with her as he called out her name.

 _She's so fast! She must do this regularly!_

And it got him to think about all the times she was frustrated at him for thinking he saw her as dependent. That she couldn't do anything on her own, even though he never thought it and never implied it.

His energy lowered and his fatigue weakened as the minute went by. But he pushed himself farther than he normally would've had he not been around her.

His vision became blurry as he found himself going beyond his limits, pushing the confined state of his limbs past the dropping temperature.

He called her name once more, nearly loosing the gleam of silver as it darted to the left, leaving him almost no time to react as he slid through the snow and sharply turned before launching off in the other direction.

 _Please be safe, Shira. Please._

He seemed to go to the edge when it came to her. Nothing else mattered. Not even the food they were chasing. Her safety seemed infinitely more important to the tiger. And as he reached her at the forest's edge, he knew that to be true.

Her fangs sunk past the skin of the squealing pig, paws gripping between the blood. The animal was probably double the size of either of them. As such, Diego jumped at the other side, but just after realizing how dangerously close this all was to the cliff edge that sunk into the abyss.

He didn't have time to warn her. Not with how close the boar was getting to the edge.

 _Shit. What do I do? I have to... oh god, think, dammit!_

By that point, it was already too late as the hog lost its balance off the cliff, Shira now just noticing as she detached her jaws and struggled with her paws, swishing at Diego to latch onto.

He saw the fear. He saw the life she was contemplating. She was afraid she was going to die. It was going to end here. Just when it all began.

 _Shira... no... I... I love you... so much._

Everything seemed to slow down. He didn't smell anything. He didn't hear anything. He didn't feel anything. The beautiful crisp eyes he came to adore. Now only hurt. Only tears as she screamed and panicked, limbs shaking, begging for Diego to help. To save her.

Tried as he did, the tiger couldn't reach over the massive animal to grab her. Even more, he certainly couldn't have held the weight that was sliding off the edge.

The boar squirmed and shook as it inevitably slid off the edge with Shira practically underneath. His paws peeled away at the skin until gravity forced him to detach.

The moment he felt his life shatter. He felt numb. He felt nothing as he collapsed to the ground, crying in agony as he listened to her screams fall into the darkness. As he let it leak the empty void he carried like a burden.

Only one strand of emotion found it's way painfully through his vocal chords as he cried out her name, his throat aching from the darkness in his heart. His eyes shut and stinging from the tears.

He crawled forward to the edge, casting eyes down into the blackness, the leaking unable to stop.

He didn't believe anything anymore. He didn't want to believe what happened. The sight he'd have to see if he were to go down there. So hopeless, in fact, that he didn't bother calling her name out. He didn't feel he deserved to. He felt he had to blame himself. Almost like he caused all this.

The tiger just sat there on the edge, staring. He tried thinking further, but it was difficult. His stomach twisted and turned, churning up a guilt driven sickness.

Screams of profanity exited his lips as his thoughts deepened. Gasps of agony bellowed out into a panic attack. Every portion of his body shook, unable to handle all that had happened.

Anger overruled the sadness as his paws gripped the cliff edge. Muscles tightened as his breath gained weight. He buried his face in the snow.

Her image entered his mind. Every detail he remembered hurt to picture. Because of that, he wanted to wake up. But he couldn't. He could never wake up. Not from this. Another day was too late. The quiet was a curse.

He trembled beneath the emotion. He choked on the anger. He eyed down at his two paws. But he only felt he had one.


	12. Chapter 12

Two Paws

Chapter 12

He kept blaming himself. He kept telling himself he could've done something. She could still be here. Standing by him. Talking to him. Listening.

He pictured her sitting beside him. He imagined how adorable she'd look. Her straight pose that gave her that feeling of independence. Her midway closed eyelids that gave that sassy attitude he came to love. And her smile. Her daggers that hung out seemed to be polished white along with the rest of her teeth. It made him feel bad about his teeth, honestly, whenever he saw his own reflection.

 _I kept thinking she was too perfect for me. I kept telling myself I didn't deserve it. And now it all makes sense._

The saber choked on his own sadness, practically dying as he attempted to keep it from flowing out.

At that moment, he was fed up. He was done. He wanted to tell himself to stop caring. That it was all a mistake. He never should've gotten involved with her when they met. He should've figured he was better off on his own for the rest of his life. There was hurt from being alone, but it wasn't nearly anything like this.

 _This is suffering._

The more he thought of her, the more it pissed him off. It was only one day they had been together. There were still so many things he wanted to tell her. So many things he wanted to feel with her.

That eagerness seemed to spark some wanting and motivation on reaching her down there. Even if it resulted in seeing her corpse.

 _The longer I wait, the more likely that'll be the case._

He silenced his emotions as he looked around, seeing no end to either side of the abyss. No way to lower himself down with leverage. Realistically, that left only one real option.

 _Oh god, no. I can't just..._

He breathed in and looked to the skies and looked to the ground. His head shook on the stupid idea.

 _There's nothing to lose now. Because the last thing I'm ready to do is say goodbye._

He edged closer to the drop, expecting fear to enter his mind. But he felt nothing. And he knew he'd never feel anything again without her.

The point of no return was just a step away. He was well aware and it didn't change anything as he leaned forward, ready to give his own life for her. Cutting his own needs into his soul.

 _I guess I'll never know._

The fall left his mind empty. He only thought of her. His heart didn't race. His breathing didn't intensify. His muscles didn't stiffen. It was just love. That was the last thing he wanted to feel before he died.

But it wasn't. After love came excruciating pain.

It was around twenty seconds before he hit the bottom. His head rung as loudly as it ached. His mouth hung open, teeth angering through as he cried in agony. It was pain he could've never perceived nor alleviate. Profanity flooded out of his mouth. He could taste the leaking that slid down from his head. He gripped his temples, jittering in shock from the amount that poured out.

The monotone skies bled the same down into the darkness, the ground softening and slipping of muddy water and broken bones.

The tiger had just then fought past his time of dying, lifting his head from the mud, wiping his face and seeing the two hundred something pound animal he had been hunting all morning.

The tiger groaned as he got up, energy building back inside him. His heart was pounding at the fear of seeing her as he limped behind the boar's presumably dead carcass.

And she was there, tucked under the dead hog, eyes closed, rain now pouring on top of everything. He imagined every bone of hers under that pig must've been crushed. It was really just her legs, though. But the blood poured all the same, regardless.

As he noticed this, he lied down, unable to stand the aching and crawled his way to her. His head leaned into hers, rubbing against the soft and wet feeling, wanting to tell her how sorry he was. That it was all his fault this happened.

He was going to let the sadness flood. Every feeling he still had. He wanted it all gone.

 _No more. I can't._

He placed a paw on her side, whimpering as he gave little strength to pull her out. With the injuries he endured, it seemed impossible.

Flashes of lightning penetrated the torture he found himself in. The tiger collapsed onto her, his ear against her. As he was about to break the thread that kept his agony hidden, wanting to feel the satisfaction of releasing it all, he felt something.

 _No way._

He felt the pulse in her. He felt the rise and fall of her chest.

His eyes opened, the tears so suddenly vanished as he sprang up with the broken pieces in his body not as severe with her still breathing. He laughed slightly to the overwhelming relief.

 _She's bleeding so badly. I've got to get her out of there._

Deep breaths inhaled and exhaled as the tiger pushed against the boar. He pushed against the stinging aches that wrapped around his bones. Against the yelping roar in his throat.

 _No way I'm stopping. She's alive. I'm keeping it that way, dammit._

But the more he pushed, the worse the pain got. And he fought past it all. Whenever it felt like too much, he'd just give it more. He almost got a feeling of pleasure from it. Just so that he could feel something. More than he would if she was dead.

He felt the ground start to shake away as the carcass slid to one side, Shira's lower portion slowly becoming visible. Pure red. Not even the glimmer of her silvered pelt was enough to go through the seeping leakage.

The sight of it stabbed him. But he didn't let it weaken his effort as he got further underneath the giant hog, using his back and shoulders to further lift it off.

And that felt like the peak of the pain he could take as he screamed his lungs out, giving a giant push upward, dropping to grab Shira, pulling her out before the carcass rolled back over her.

He was thrown with her to the side, the pain causing him a headache that reached down his spine. He just laid there with her, all silence besides the pouring rain.

Her chest was still rising and falling as he trembled still from shock. And the shock only worsened as he felt her lower body. How severely tender it was. How broken it felt.

 _Oh my god..._

The hour went by. Diego moved her against the trench wall to keep her dry. He felt his insides crack a bit as he lied her down, yelping and tearing of pain. But it didn't stop him from putting her as first priority.

So suddenly, his stomach growled and it left him reminded of the giant carcass behind him.

As he brought the slab over to her, the eyes opened. His jaw dropped in shock, which also caused the hunk of meat to drop from his mouth.

Instantly, he was at her side, paws on her shoulders as she looked around, seemingly light headed.

"Diego... what... where am I?"

Before she could gaze down at her bloodied and torn legs, he brought his paw to her face, keeping it still.

"Don't look, Shira. It's... it's fine." He spoke, painfully obvious that he was lying as he choked on his own words.

"Why? Why do my legs hurt?" She begged, grabbing Diego's shoulder and leaning onto him

"Just don't look." He asserted, sliding the meat towards her, "Right now, you just need to eat."

"My legs... are they... oh god I'm so scared." The drops shed from her eyes.

"It's okay. Just eat."

After eyeing him with worry and remembering how ridiculously hungry she was, she did just that, really chowing away at the three foot long piece.

And he sighed as his head lowered, thinking. Pleading that she would be alright. That she wasn't going to bleed from the inside out.

All the focus that went to her caused him to forget how badly he needed food too.

 _God, I'm starving._

The tiger got himself a slab of meat, eating beside her. Rain shot down harder and faster by the minute. The food certainly made him feel better, but it didn't make the worry for her life go away.

While he ate, he'd eye her. Her legs kept bleeding. So many dark red spots engulfing the lighter red areas. He wished there was someway he could stop it.

Once she finished and felt stuffed, she looked over to him. Just about anywhere on her body, there was red. And it upset him. It angered him to think that he just let this happen.

His paws clenched into the wet ground below him. He let that anger show as he gently held her face and dove his lips to hers. As gentle as he wanted to be due to her condition, he found it difficult. There was so much more power in his love this time. Despite the pain he felt from his own injuries. Despite the possibility that they might never get out of this situation. Despite every sign that told him he was never meant to make anything out of his life, he pressed on. He pressed on into her mouth, tongues overlapping and lips sliding against each other.

For the rest of the day, the remained there. The tiger wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this, but it didn't matter right now. He just wanted to be with her. Feel the idea of nearly losing her. Treasuring her like a gift.

Neither said anything for a good twenty minutes. Thoughts contemplated. Diego's paw rubbed up and down her side as she leaned into him, wishing there was more he could do to help.

"Diego..." she whimpered, looking up and eyeing him.

"Hmm?"

"You can leave me. It's okay."

His heart tore at the very idea.

"I'm pretty sure I can't."

A grin still managed across her face.

"You're not useless, Shira."

The silver saber sighed, seemingly fighting herself with that statement.

"I can't walk. Diego... I just-"

So suddenly she burst into tears, crying her eyes onto his shoulder.

"You can't move them at all?"

"I can't feel anything. I'm paralyzed. Forever... probably." She cried further, seemingly ready for a panic attack.

"You might just be numb."

His words had her crying stop as she held onto him.

"Maybe." She spoke.

"Your legs are twitching. They're moving. They're gonna be okay. Trust me."

"Okay." She swallowed her sadness and worry.

"You good on food?"

"For now, probably."

"There's plenty more if you need it."

"Yeah... um, thanks."

Diego just sighed as he eyed her, never having felt so soft in his life. And maybe she noticed.

"I'm glad you're okay, Shira." He spoke softly, kissing her forehead.

"For like the third time." She sassed.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." His heart poured out, gripping her even tighter.

"You don't?"

"I've got nothing else." He let out, not caring if she felt pressured from the idea that she was all he could hang onto.

"That's why you..." she began to think aloud, dozing off and piecing together why his own body was so bloodied up.

"Why I... what?" The tiger tilted his head. At the same time she seemed to snap back to reality.

"I mean, how'd you even get down here? Are you okay?" She asked.

The tiger looked over himself, remembering that he was in no better state than she was.

"I don't know. Am I bleeding from the ears?" He smirked, eyeing her.

She playfully scoffed in response.

"Maybe you are."

"Ah, damn." He grinned and shook his head. He found it amusing how even when death seemed near, he still made it a priority to make her smile.

She gave a lengthy stretch and a yawn. Diego noticed movement in her hind legs. The rain had done its job of washing away most of the red. The fact that she was still conscious probably meant that she was going to be okay. He only wished he could've stopped the bleeding sooner.

"Diego?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I ever want to hunt again."

"That's unfortunate." The tiger grinned, stroking her backside.

"Why?"

"Because you were amazing."

"Oh, come on." She blushed.

"I'm serious. If this trench hadn't been here, you would've nailed it on your first try... I couldn't have done that."

That last part spiked a feeling of instant regret in the tiger.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head and eyeing him directly.

"I... uh..."

"Come on, you can tell me." She teased, tenderly kissing his neck, creating a purring sensation in the tiger's throat.

"You took down that giant bison those nights ago. What do you mean you couldn't have done the same today?"

Inside, Diego was battling himself. He never wanted to tell her how much he actually lied to her. Even though it was just one thing, to him, it felt like like it was everything. He just didn't want her to see him as incompetent.

 _Even though she sees herself the same. Maybe we're both like that... and that's okay. Maybe it'll work. Diego... it's time to start being honest with her._

"I... didn't really take it down."

"What?"

"That bison. I didn't do it."

"Then who did?"

First surprise was the fact that she didn't seem shocked... or upset.

"One thing led to another. And...

The tiger gasped in surprise as her paw reached to his shoulder. He cleared his throat as he could feel her eyes gazing at him.

"You just got lucky?"

 _God, she can read my mind._

"Yeah."

"And this bothers you?" She asked with her face uncomfortably close to his. Lips practically touching.

"I didn't want you to think I was... worthless."

"Ironic, don't you think?" She smirked.

"Why?"

"Cuz... you're always the one telling me... I'm more than I think I am." She sassed with her head leaning under his and her eyes up at him.

"Well...yeah, but...

He thought about it, but the more he did, the more he realized what she was getting at.

"Guess I have to give ya that one." The tiger admitted, Shira giggling in response.

"You really thought I'd care how you got the food?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I don't. And, Diego..."

"Yeah?"

Instead of hearing a response like he was expecting, he found himself pulled in by her embrace, lips not failing to connect. Grins eager to spread and throats not holding back purrs.

All the while, he thought of her hind legs. How much red caked through her roughed up pelt. What if she really can't walk for a very long time? Maybe forever? The fact that she didn't seem bothered by it showed how strong she really was.

 _No matter what, I will protect you, Shira. And... if I fail to... I'll be the one to save you._


	13. Chapter 13

Two Paws

Chapter 13

The following morning left his gaze staring to the skies. All though, at the bottom of the trench, his view of the sky was limited. Just a dash of orange shined through the early hours.

As he stared aimlessly, he thought about her. Those thoughts only deepened with his paw playfully padding across her pelt. The rise and fall of her chest in such comfortable rhythm that he found himself nearly dozing back to sleep.

The previous night proved to be troublesome. And not just because of what horrors took place, but for the horrors to come. It was nearly impossible for him to sleep that night because of the fear that she wouldn't wake up the next day.

The tiger lowered his eyes to her legs, still in disbelief with how severe the injuries were. So swollen purple.

As he tried to adjust himself, he gritted in pain, reminded of his own condition and the torn marks around his pelt. As such, he just collapsed back into her, leaning his face against hers. Emotions quietly leaked.

"You poor thing." Diego whispered, his forehead against hers as she slept. He did his best to be gentle with her.

The tiger gazed to either side of the trench. He wasn't sure how long either way went on for, but the last thing he wanted was to attempt climbing out. Especially with her on his back.

 _Just to fall again and end up with seven lives._

He didn't want to risk anymore. Risks always seemed to lead to regrets. From the night he decided to go for a run just before dark. To the day he let her go get food by herself in the storm. To just letting her go hunting with him.

 _Am I not allowed to do anything in this world?_

It just seemed no matter what choice he made, it always led to the same place. Like he did everything right but it was still always wrong.

His thoughts swarmed on these philosophies until he heard her groan in her sleep so adorably, reminding him of what it was he had. How important she was.

Her eyes seemed to struggle open. He figured she was still really tired. Maybe he woke her.

The white tiger lifted her head and gazed at him, but only for a second before she lowered it back down.

"Shira? Hey, you alright?"

When he received no response, panic rose in him. He felt for her breathing. He felt her forehead. No burning. Breathing felt normal. He observed her carefully, desperate to know what's happening. And that's when he noticed her lips. How dry they were. The whiteness of her chapped mouth showed how dehydrated she was.

 _My god, she hasn't had water in days, has she?_

Thankfully, just by knowing she needed water eased his worry. He could fix this. But where would he get water? How was he to get her to a river from here?

 _Only one way, I guess..._

With that, the tiger jawed her by the scruff and began pulling her through the trench. Minutes went by before he realized how little he was accomplishing by dragging her beautiful pelt across the rugged and filthy ground.

 _What else can I do, though?_

Gently, he set her down for a moment to think. His eyes lifted to the skies above. Even in the estimated hundred foot trench, the tiger could still make out the gloomy weather that hovered over the crevasse. It didn't take much longer before he felt the first drop hit his forehead. He flinched a bit, stumbling back to the white tigress. He spoke her name a few times, hoping she'd find the strength. But all he could see was the struggle to even open her eyes.

 _She's awake. But she's just..._

As the rain drops got more frequent, Diego rolled Shira onto her back with her mouth barley open. The tiger then cupped his paws together to get some water, pouring it into her mouth.

Diego could see her throat swallow. Her lips smacked together to the refreshing taste. Minutes went by as she laid there, eyes finally open, but still weak to where Diego had to keep helping her drink. His paws continuously met her lips as she lapped her tongue to drink.

It only took minutes longer before he heard her speak his name. As he was about to cup his hands again, he turned to her. His heart raced at the sound of her voice, but he never would've turned around in time before she collapsed onto him, the two rolling into the wet puddles below them.

Cries bled out of her. Maybe from the injuries. Maybe from the feelings she had for the tiger. Maybe a little bit of both. Diego didn't know for sure. But the difference meant very little as he just returned the gestures, embracing her. Cuddling. Bodies in rhythm. The feeling of connection that he longed for.

She shivered from the cold and the rain, grasping him tighter for warmth.

"How are you feeling, Shira?" He choked up the courage to ask.

Her head shook, "I don't know. Just... a bit of everything." She sighed as she opened her mouth and held her tongue out for the rain above her, still a bit thirsty.

While she did that, Diego leaned to her neck and ran his tongue along it. The smirk on her face was all he expected. What he was really doing, however, was keeping her distracted from her legs. As the sun came up that morning, the tiger understood how bad her injuries were by the tears of flesh revealing the bone.

"We'll get out of here, Shira. Come on." The tiger insisted as he let her use him as support to stand up. She was only really able to use one leg as both her hind legs hurt too much to put pressure on, and one front leg needed to be over Diego's shoulder for balance.

It hurt Diego to see her have to be practically dragged across the ground as he carried her through the cold and quiet trench. Their foot steps and the occasional raindrops were all that could be heard.

And it was so relaxing to the tiger. Having her leaning into him as the rain fell and the thunder drummed.

Minutes later, unexpectedly, their hopes of plead were answered as the darkness crept light through like a slowly opened door.

"Shira... look!" Diego stuck out his paw at the light. In response, Shira could do nothing but smile and sigh as she gazed back to him. The expressions led to the tiger seeing the small details across her lips and in her eyes.

 _She's so adorable._

It felt like forever since the two of them had seen the light of day. The sudden burst of gleam had the two squint for a moment before adjusting to the change in brightness. In front of them was a shoreline that sat at the edge of the ocean.

Diego brought Shira closer to the water. As they were about to step in, Shira halted and released her grasp around the tiger.

"What's wrong?" The tiger asked, tilting his head.

"What are you doing?" She asked as Diego took steps into the cool temperature ocean.

"Your injuries need to be cleaned, don't you think?"

"Well... yeah, but..."

Diego stepped out and walked up to her. Face to face.

"But what?" He asked so genuine and affectionate. Just to show her that he was there to listen. He was there to understand.

"I'm afraid..."

"Afraid of what?"

For a moment she seemed to be processing a response, but ultimately gave in and sighed of exhaustion.

"I don't really know, anymore." She exclaimed as she laid down, gritting her teeth of the sudden pressure in her legs.

"Come on, the water will help." Diego insisted as he dug under her to lift her up and took her into the water.

At first, she gritted her teeth more so and exhaled in pain. Diego knew it would sting a bit due to the ocean's salty water, but he also knew it was effective in healing wounds and infections. And he figured the purple that pulsed across her legs was more than just a bruise.

"It's gonna hurt a bit. Salt water will help heal, though."

And just like that, Shira could see her leg under the water. The purple seemingly becoming less vivid by the minute. Diego smiled at the look of awe on her face.

"You're so smart, Diego." She admired as she looked back at him, "A lot smarter than me." She added.

"I think you're too hard on yourself." Diego argued.

She only shrugged, "It's tough."

"I know."

The tiger scooted into her, rubbing his head up her neck, having the slightest smile cross her lips.

"I used to be like that."

"When?"

"About three days ago."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"I think you know." He responded with his tongue running up her neck, knowing she inevitably purred each time.

"Oh... I think I've got it." She smirked as she leaned her head against his, the feeling of her warm pelt soothing his worries away, "You're going soft for me, right?"

"I don't need your sass, Shira." The tiger playfully spoke. Her teeth whitened with the grin on her teasing look.

There certainly was something that changed the night the tiger met her. It wasn't necessarily a responsibility, but more of an endeavor. It drove him to become something better. And he couldn't imagine it happening any other way.

 _I never would've figured my life out, otherwise._

The thought traced his mind to consider how much she truly did for him. And, to the tiger, getting food for her ever day and night felt like practically nothing compared to what she did for him. Just by being here with him.

"You good on food?"

She just nodded.

"I can get something if you want."

 _There you go showing off again._

The tiger rose up a bit, ready to take off at her command if the truth was she wanted food.

The exact opposite happened as he felt her paw grab his wrist and pull him back to her.

"I don't want you to leave, Diego." She seemed to beg, grasping tighter.

The tiger nodded in understanding. He also figured the water had done all it could at that point and helped her back up. All the while, the reminding hit him about how precious she was. How absolutely important she was.

 _If it weren't for her injuries, I'd probably jump her right now. Roll into the snow with her. Feeling the soft texture of her pelt. The warmth. Hearing her beautiful laugh. God, I want to hug every inch of her-_

Before the lust in him furthered, he found himself dazing off with her looking at him in amusement. As such, he had to shake his head and exhale out the lustful emotions.

 _Now's not the time for this, you dimwit._

"Hey, Diego." She spoke up, a certain twinkle crossing her eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks... for... you know." She stumbled, padding her paws around as she felt like a broken record. It always amused Diego how bashful she was in nature. How adorable she was. And seeing her in denial over it only added further to those traits.

There was so much loving warmth inside him. He wanted to share it with and give her the chance to experience what he wanted to feel for the last twenty years.

To do that, without warning, he turned to her. She was just able to eye up at him as he let loose his posture and had his mouth fall into hers. He pushed the length of their connection as far as he was willing to show her.

The tiger's lips spread a smirk as he felt the shock in her body's gestures. In the slight backing up of her neck to her head. But her initial tension vanished the moment he let out the words he had been holding in since before he even knew what she looked like.

"I love you so much, Shira."

Just uttering that phrase seemed to trigger her own lustful desires as she legged up in her mouthful love.

"You're such a sweetheart, Diego." She sighed of lust, pecking him on both sides of his face.

He felt the heat in his head. The burning red seeped through his golden color. He breathed deeply to help consume everything he was feeling for her. Recollecting the images every night where her beauty in the moonlight would overthrow him.

Once they finally did release from each other, they both figured it was best to find someplace to rest for the night considering the tiger had no idea where they were.

 _Doesn't matter where I am as long as it's with her._

The tiger still helped her walk as she struggled to keep her balance. Each step she took with her hind legs had her grit her teeth.

Diego couldn't be happier seeing her using her legs now. Before, he had to practically drag her. Now she was nearly able to walk on her own.

"You'll get better, Shira. I promise." He murmured with his head leaning onto hers as they walked.

"Thanks, Softie."

He only smirked at that response.

"Oh, and also..." she began, waiting for him to turn his head, "Sorry I didn't mention this before, but..." she continued as she gave him the slowest and most sensual lick up his neck.

"I love you, too."


	14. Chapter 14

Two Paws

Chapter 14

His paws kept twiddling through her fur as he lay down against the bole of the large tree. The branches extended far enough to act as a roof over their heads for the night.

The tiger felt like he let her down since he couldn't find an appropriate place to stay for the night considering the constantly dropping temperatures. Tried as he had, he couldn't find anything. Alcoves, caverns or anything in between was normally... a normality. Now the tiger couldn't help but think that his luck was on purpose. All the signs were begging for him to give up.

But having her there, the warmth it brought onto him, the tiger knew a mildly cold night would've been the same as the ninth layer of hell.

He grasped her tightly as the winds picked up, but had to release his strength as she whimpered in pain from her injuries while she slept that following morning.

 _Poor kitty._

He smirked to himself, remembering giving her that nickname. So simple. So adorable.

 _So her._

The gentle strokes he gave her seemed to be enough to cast her eyes open. Her gleaming smile caught him off guard considering all that she had recently been through.

Seconds went by as they eyed each other. Diego could tell she was waiting for him to speak. But as he opened his mouth, something caught him off guard. His own breath. It wasn't pleasant.

Embarrassment suddenly filled his insides.

"What's wrong?" She asked, gleaming into his eyes.

"Nothing." He mumbled, looking away and covering his mouth with his paw.

"Looks like something to me." She giggled as she leaned her face closer to his, her lips targeting his own. Before she could connect, Diego held his paw to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock, darting between his paw and his eyes.

"No, everything's fine... I just..."

Desperately, he tried to think of some reason to excuse himself from her. His eyes itched from the uncomfortable circumstance. So quickly, his mind traced to the fact that it's been a while since he had anything to drink.

He gazed back to her before ultimately deciding on that idea.

"I just need some water real quick." He burst out. But, before he could get up, she pulled him down, a stern look in her eyes. Yet, her lips grinned of amusement.

 _She knows..._

"You really think I care about bad breath?" She smirked.

"Yeah."

Just as quickly as he responded, she threw her lips against his, tugging at them to open so she could lap her tongue around the inside of his mouth.

She gave a final puckered kiss releasing off of him, her paw teasingly to her lips.

"You still think I care?" She asked so humorously yet so genuinely at the same time.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... I'm really trying to be perfect... like you."

The blush appeared instantly as she lowered her head and smirked.

"I'm not perfect, Diego."

The way she spoke suggested her insistence. As such, Diego glared in disagreement.

"There's no such thing as perfect, anyway." She added.

"If I hadn't met you, I'd probably agree." He spoke with a lick up her neck.

"Diego..." she sighed in exhaustion. The tiger could tell she saw no point in arguing.

"Shira... do you know why I always chose to stay with you?"

"You felt sorry for me?"

"No." He laughed and said, "Because you're attractive."

No words functioned through her lips. Only her already red blush deepening in color.

"And I'm not just talking about looks, either." He added as he propped himself up, ready to take a stab at the world for yet another day. To help her get better. To protect her at all costs.

Shira, in return had nothing to do but look away, contemplating the words he spoke. It wasn't like her to believe his honesty about herself, but after all that had happened. How lucky she was to still be here. Breathing. Eyes open. It really forced her to not second think anything. It really felt like she had a place she could call home and a life no one could touch. Her home was in his heart.

She could only allow herself to eye him so sweetly for so long as the tiger cleared his throat and looked to the valley below them. The tundra climate felt lonely to him. So much that he forgot about her for a second.

"I'm alright on food, Diego." She assured him, thinking that he wanted to go hunting for her since she was, at the moment, literally incapable.

"I know... it's just..."

He walked closer to the seeping light through the world.

"What's wrong?"

"The whole world. Why is it trying to take away?"

Shira gritted her teeth as she slowly raised herself, struggling to keep herself balanced as she walked closer to him. The cool winds picked up as they both gazed out to the world in front of them.

His paw went around her waist, pulling her closer to him as her head rested in his chest.

"I'm sorry these things keep happening." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek. The tiger nearly collapsed of the affection, smiling and laughing.

"It's all been my fault, anyway." She sighed, "I keep thinking... I can do things on my own."

She smirked and shook her head, "Now I know better."

"Shira, I don't want to go everywhere with you because you can't take care of yourself. I want to go everywhere with you because I love being around you."

"Diego... that's..." Her head lowered as she grinned with emotion leaking out, "that's so sweet."

"Now who's the softy?" He teased, giving her a kiss on the side of her muzzle.

"Probably you."

The tiger bit his lips and shook his head. He left her side and got up to stretch, his claws extending outward.

"Anyway..." He began, "I think I'll go out for a short run. I'd ask you to come with me, but... you know." He smiled as he padded away, leaving her to be.

 _She probably needs some time to herself, regardless._

"Won't be long..."

He stopped and perked his ears to her voice.

"...Right?" She asked with a hint of worry in her voice. But with how focused Diego was on her, because of how well he listens to her, he picked up on her worry instantly.

"I promise. I won't be long." He answered sincerely, giving her a kiss on her muzzle, to which her lips pulled up in an instinctive response.

She smirked as he walked away. However, he only took a few steps forward, but stopped and turned his head back to her. Just leaving her presence, even if a few feet, seemed to spark that mental grasp he had for her. She was too much to lose. Too special. Too perfect.

 _She's the definition. She's my definition. I can't... I can't lose her.'_

It only took a few seconds before he rushed back to her, giving her the biggest hug he was capable of.

"Stay safe." He pleaded, sounding like it was his life on a thread. And the more he thought about it, and the more the distance between them increased, the more true that became.


	15. Chapter15

Two Paws

Chapter 15

A/N: Trying my best to work on this every night, even if it's just a hundred words. Past couple of chapters haven't had much happen. Things will happen, though. Trust me.

* * *

It felt strange looking at a reflection of himself. The earring that dangled off his left lobe ignited that remembrance. How bashfully cute it was seeing her hold out her paws with the shell piece she made for him.

 _How she was able to make this earring is beyond me._

The tiger tried not to question what wasn't really important. What mattered was the way she gave it to him. How she went through the trouble of making it. How she insisted that he tried it on. And it was all before he poured out his feelings of interest for her. It really let down the worry that she felt forced into all this.

 _She really was doing the same thing. Trying to catch my interest._

His paw fiddled with the ear piece as he drowned his gaze at the water. He had gone for a swim after his run, feeling he needed to clean himself up before returning to her. Fortunately, there was a lake higher up in the cliffside. Massive waterfalls leaked out of nearly every corner. It felt like a paradise. The unusually warm weather added to that effect.

With one last drink of water, rubbing his teeth with his paw to clean and looking over his fluffy, clean pelt, the saber turned and headed back. His heart raced in eagerness to see her, even though it had only been thirty minutes. It felt amazing. Something to look forward to. A reason to keep going everyday. So slowly, he started to see there was more than just loving her.

The walk back up wasn't as easy, his fatigue reaching an end as he got to the top of the hill, seeing her there, resting under the tree. Wind blew from the left. Her pelt's fur was in rhythm with the swaying tree. So peaceful. So calming. He choked on his own emotions, feeling he was ready to cry.

He held it all in as he approached her, still lightly panting from the trip back.

The tiger leaned down and gave her a lick on the forehead as she lay there with her chin resting on her paws, her lips inevitably tugging up a smile.

For a bit, he sat down next to her. His eyes glanced at her as she rested. Looking over, he could see the wounds around her waste had shrunken in size since the night before. Her legs, however, still looked their worse. The bone now just barely noticeable.

He padded his paw around her shoulder, scratching her up the neck, the purring from her throat nearly too much for the tiger as her eyes opened.

She cast a lengthy yawn and lapped her lips as she stretched. She hadn't looked his way yet as she sat back down.

"Sleep well, kitty?" The tiger teased.

Shira whipped her neck to him, startled by his unexpected presence. But no sooner did her lips tuck up a smile.

"Oh, hey. You're back." She exclaimed in relief.

"Missed me?" He asked sweetly with his eyes gleaming at her with teasing awe. All the while, Shira had been looking over him as well.

"Wow..." she laughed of impression, eyeing him from top to bottom, "You look great!" She exclaimed, noticing the looseness of his fur against the wind.

Diego had been too focused on keeping himself from blushing, he hardly noticed her head nuzzling up the side of him. Her paw twiddled in his fur. He could tell she was taking in his clean scent; his soft, warm pelt and all the loving gestures he was capable of.

"I'll give you my word that I'll love you like this everyday for the rest of my life."

"I'll probably hold you to that, you know?" She smirked

"Again, Shira... I don't need your sass." The tiger smirked and said, lightly bopping her on the nose, her eyes flinching as a smile came up.

"You know..." she spoke in a bashful tone, "I exhausted myself of worry thinking about you."

Diego grinned, "Oh, really?" He humored.

"I was so scared that you'd... well..."

"That I wouldn't come back?"

Shira stared at him as he said that. It really did seem that way. Before, she'd always be on him for worrying about her. Wanting to go with her everywhere. And now it made sense. He just cared about her. Maybe it was so hard for her to see it at first because... she never had been cared about before. She never had anyone to care about.

"Shira, what was your family like?" He asked, holding the back of her head with his paw.

She didn't answer. She didn't want to. The tiger could tell.

"Shira, look at me." He struggled to say, feeling his throat tense from the emotion, "You trust me... right?"

The same thing she asked him those few nights ago.

"I'm not sure anymore." She whispered quietly.

"What do you mean?" He asked as she scooted away a bit.

"Diego... I said I didn't have a family... because... It hurts every time I think about it." she bit her lips, hesitating to continue. Emotions of frustration and despise leaked out of her breath.

"If you don't want to talk about-

"No. I need to."

 _She really does trust me._

"I... used to have a..." her mouth hung open as she hesitated.

Diego kept his gaze locked on her, listening. Caring. Always understanding.

"A twin sister." She finished abruptly, turning away, eyes tearing and nose sniffling. Cries mixed with whimpers.

"Used to?" The tiger tilted his head.

"She was killed a few years ago. This horrible avalanche accident. Her body was never found. It was always just me and her. And my mother always blamed me for what happened." Shira went on, her throat cracking of sorrow.

"I can't even imagine what that must have been like, Shira." Diego responded back in comfort, reaching his paw around and pulling her in, "Sure puts my problems into perspective."

Shira giggled in response, knowing his humor all too well.

"What was her name?"

"Sarah."

"Pretty similar name."

"It got confusing sometimes." She giggled and sighed as she gazed out beyond the skies, the tiger calmly stroking her sides.

"You have any idea what it's like to be a twin?" She asked, Diego almost thinking it was rhetorical. But seconds went by before she gazed up at him, waiting for him to speak.

"I... well, I don't really-

"I mean, yeah, you're with your best friend twenty-four-seven... but... it has its downsides."

"Like what?"

"You're really only half of yourself. The other half is your twin. You're only whole with your twin. You grow up together. Do everything together. When she died... I was dysfunctional. Life became twice as hard. Only one half. Like half my body was missing. Only two limbs."

Diego pulled her in closer as she cried.

"Only one paw. I was useless."

The tiger cradled her back and forth, helping her keep from the panic attack he was sensing in her heavy breathing.

 _Is this why she's always hard on herself?_

"I miss her so much, Diego. It wasn't suppose to happen. We just went out to explore that day. Like anyone else would. Why? Why do bad things keep happening?" Her tears leaked to crying. Her crying led to bawling.

"I wish I knew." He spoke quietly, almost to a whisper, "What about me, though?"

"What about you?"

"Was I one of those bad things?"

Even though it seemed obvious, looking deeper, he was the best thing that ever happened to her. And it went to show that not everything since then had been tragic

"Of course not."

The day progressed a little oddly. Diego didn't want to leave her while he went to find food. At the same time, he didn't want her to hunt with him because of her injuries. It was miraculous enough that she was nearly able to walk like normal so quickly. Only slight limping he noticed in her hind legs.

The best he could come up with was to live like a herbivore for the day. Although he wished he could provide better for her, wishing he was comfortable with taking the risk, he knew she understood. He didn't have to say anything. They just clicked that way.

After eating an assortment of fruits and vegetables to the point where the tiger felt sick from the change in diet, he got an idea. He leaned down to her ear.

"Come with me. I need to show you something." He quietly spoke.

She smirked and didn't seem to question as she struggled herself off the ground.

"Can you walk okay?"

"I'll manage."

It was one step after the other with every scream held back. Every whimper leaking out the excruciating. The tiger had doubts he even carried the mental capacity to see her continuously struggle like she was.

She tripped and trampled every so often as the terrain formed more rugged the higher they got in altitude. The frosted slope and heavy winds fueled the unpleasantness further.

 _She's such a tough girl._

What tapped the back of his head was asking if he could help her. He wanted to. He gladly would. But he knew her well enough to the point where that wasn't even in the realm of possibility. He already felt bad for dragging her out here in the first place.

She nearly slipped and was headed towards tumbling down a few feet. She would've had Diego not been carefully monitoring her every inch of they way.

The tiger snatched her paw and pulled her back.

"Easy there, kitty." He grinned as he released his grip on her paw.

She playfully scoffed as she went ahead.

"And I'm sorry." The tiger let out.

"For what?"

"For not realizing how hard this would be to climb."

"I'm just worried the longer this takes, the less I'll feel it's actually..." She had to stop and take it all in as they made it to the peak , "...worth it."

Atop sat a crystal clear pool of water that was provided by the heavy falls. Many layers elevated at different heights and water ran in connection to each one.

She had a hard time doing anything except for taking in all the smells and sights. It was something she'd never experienced before. And now, she can. Thanks to a certain saber's big heart. And that saber quietly stepped to her, eyes openly connected with hers. The water rushed down in the background. The mist from the fall's collision twinkled and twirled.

Silence took over them. The silver tigress gave a look of wanting and needing. She desired everything that had to do with him. It was the heat of the moment. It was the beauty of every surrounding.

The first connection to his mouth wasn't anything near surprising as yet another day went by. Another setting sun as the light began to fade. Yet the splashing waters seemed to imitate a glow of moonlight.

 _If the end comes, there's no reason to be scared._ The tiger thought, knowing that these days were the best of their lives. And nothing can take that away.

"I just thought that... this would be a great place to stay." He exclaimed, limbs stretching as his head turned to the falls.

Shira didn't notice at first, but dimly showing behind the water rested an enclosed cliff side. The fact that she hardly noticed it showed how hidden it was.

 _How safe it should be..._

He brought her around the falls and into the cave. They sit down and face the falls. Their reflections shined through the rapid speeding water that fell from top.

Shira sighed of awe and leaned against him, shoulders colliding and faces touching as they gazed at themselves ahead.

It was also there that Diego noticed how much better her leg had gotten, likely due to the salt water. As such, he leaned away just a tad and looked over her.

"You're looking so much better, Shira." He smiled and gazed over her.

"What are you implying?" She smarted back.

"Don't make this difficult for me." Diego teased, nipping her playfully on the ear.

"I'll make it as difficult as I want, Diego."

"You'll do no such thing."

Before she could respond, the tiger tickled at her sides, getting her to collapse to the ground and roll on her back.

"Diego! Stop it!" She laughed uncontrollably, attempting to paw him away.

"You're laugh is so cute." He murmured, the red inevitable on her as she grinned and shook her head. His mouth leaned down to her neck. The feeling of his kiss gave her the urging lust she kept in for weeks

"You're so..." he stopped and lowered his head, grinned emotion leaked, "You know..."

"Maybe I don't know."

"You should."

"Why don't you show me, then?" She suggested. The tiger could feel the seductive mood in her words. Her paws traced down his stomach to his lower half, grabbing behind.

"Right here?" He asked stupidly.

"Right now." She insisted, grabbing into his fur.

The tiger could only exhale in shock, hugging her and closing her tight. Mouths refused to let go.

Primal instincts took over as the night went on. He had never felt closer to her. He didn't think it was possible to be anymore closer. It was like they were one. His two halves. His two paws that gripped together into the night.


End file.
